The Power of Quiet

As someone who spends a lot of time presenting and writing, I have just realized that I need to spend a  lot more time listening. 

I am sitting on a hilltop right now far away from the highway noises and the only thing I can hear are birds and the occasional breeze.  I am relishing the quiet. My brain needs this time. I don’t think I realized how much noise there is in my daily life.

My son has moved back home to take on a new college challenge and he has music on all day long. It's the kind that involves lots of thumping with words that are unintelligible.  My office is next door to his room so the sounds and the vibration are inescapable.

Our brains are only capable of processing a limited amount of information at once, so it is no wonder that in an environment of constant noise, our brain is working overtime.

I wondered what happens when I sit and listen in silence. Here’s what I learned:

1.  I can’t sit still for very long. I just can’t sit in one place. I have to be up and around and keep coming up with things that I need to do. (I am considering medication for what is clearly a medical condition – probably restless leg syndrome if those commercials are right.)

2.   Ideas sort of float into my head when there is no other distraction. Beautiful scenery, fresh air and an occasional bird call helps too.

3.   No amount of sitting at my desk and trying to make myself focus on a particular topic can produce the desired outcome.  I must allow ample time away from my desk. I have to absorb the concept and understand the details first and then walk away and let my subconscious mind play with the details.  It’s as if my mind goes off and roams through the filing cabinet that is my brain until it locates a possible connection.  It pulls any pertinent information onto an accessible shelf and waits for me to re-engage. When I do, the ideas appear at a rapid pace.

4.       Humor is a spoiled child. Humor doesn’t make itself visible on command. It hangs out with its first cousin, creativity, and only appears when it’s good and ready. And you never know what makes the little bugger want to come out and play.