The neighbor is renovating his apartment next door. When noisy drilling machines started breaking tiles and walls, it was impossible to listen to anything, including the self.
Noise unnerves me like nothing else and the cost of all the development around is noise pollution emanating from cars, traffic, construction and so on.
Then the noisy day turns into night and things become silent. Cars go back home to be parked, drilling machines are silent and people go to sleep. A sense of calm surrounds me and that’s when I am at my productive best. After all, you can’t be creative and thoughtful amidst cacophony of drilling machines.
But there is other kind of noise that should, but doesn’t unnerve us – and that is the noise of unnecessary words and all the information that keeps getting bombarded at us on a 24x7x365 basis. Social media gives us endless things to consume. Online sources are constantly trying to educate and entertain. People around offering unsolicited advice and opinions.
Being silent is then about distancing yourself, even if briefly each day, from these sources of noise. It is only when you disconnect from the outside, that you can truly connect inside. Only then, you can understand yourself, process thoughts, frame your own ideas, analyze problems you’re trying to solve, and understand people around you. During my corporate tenure, a personality test revealed to me what I already knew: For every hour I spent engaging with others, I needed an equal amount of time to replenish, reflect and make sense of it all.
Reflection time for me has always been sacred. Silence is a gift that energizes us to engage with the world with fullness and presence. Silence fosters reflection, new ideas and creativity.
DID YOU KNOW? The word “SILENT” is made up of same letters as “LISTEN” and “ENLIST”. It simply means we need to be SILENT to be able to deeply LISTEN to others so that we can ENLIST their wisdom and knowledge.
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