It was my usual evening walk. I take out the dog and create a nice gap between family time and getting back to work for my evening calls.
I had taken my headphones and switched on one of my usual podcast channels. I love my podcasts. I was about 10 minutes into the walk and into the story, when it stopped. I thought a call was coming in on my phone but there was no sound.
When I checked the phone I realized it was doing a kind of buffering. I waited somewhat impatiently, tried a few different channels to see if I could get something working, and finally switched off to reboot my phone.
It came alive again and I went straight to podcasts.
But it was no good, it just wouldn’t load.
At this point I had spent about another 10 minutes trying to get the damn thing to work. I gave up.
At first the quiet was disarming, annoying and definitely NOT what I wanted. Then I noticed. It was so peaceful. I heard the birds call. The rustling in the bushes, the dog sniffing and the sounds of the neighborhood settling in to the evening.
It was such a delight. And then I heard my thoughts, not so delightful. They were very noisy.
I realized that quiet can be so not quiet. And I began to quiet my thoughts. To notice them and let them go, one by one.
I started to see the colors around me, notice the smells. My mind was clear and my heart sang.
It was such an unexpected gift. And I noticed how rarely I give this gift to myself. I get so busy with working and talking and thinking and learning. It’s all so noisy.
So this week, I’ve decided to give myself the gift of quiet. And I’d like to offer it to you too.
Make some time to simply be quiet; in your surroundings, in your heart and in your mind.
You’ll be amazed what you find there.
We had a power outage at home this week. A complete shutdown of all power for 24 hours. It began at noon, stretched through the afternoon, evening, and overnight. No lights, no laundry, no internet, the silence was almost deafening. Getting no work done was annoying and frustrating. Reports from the power company were devoid of any real information beyond ‘we know about the problem and we’re working on it.’
We had a little light from candles that night; we picked up some Chinese takeout and went to bed early.
I stepped outside early the next morning. It was cool with clear blue skies overhead, and so quiet.
Then I heard it. Sweet laughter and the sounds of children playing at the nursery school tucked into our neighborhood.
I smiled, and then I giggled right along with them. My heart opened, happiness and peace flowed in.
Now, days later, I can still re-hear the children’s sounds, and I return to that place of delight.
Yes Lisa, I too was amazed — it was such an unexpected gift!
how lovely!! Thanks Misty for sharing your story…