Thankful Thursday – Golden Silence

Silence – the absence of sound, chaos, noise. That moment that lends all consuming peace and serenity.

 There was a time in my life when silence was anything but pleasant. It was anything but peaceful and serene. In fact, it was equal to the most obnoxious pounding. Pounding which was probably the reflection of my heart pounding from fear. Fear of being alone.
As I’ve gotten older and have learned to grow more comfortable within my own mind–a place that has become a little less scary :-), silence began to change from fear to peace. A reprieve from the busyness of the life around me.

 I found myself looking for ways to incorporate more silence into my daily routine of living.

 I used to listen to my Ipod when I ran. When I was on vacation and didn’t have my Ipod, I was forced to listen to nothing but the sound of my feet on the pavement with each stride, the rhythm of my breathing, and nature’s sounds. It didn’t take long for me to prefer that to the constant chatter of talk radio from my ear buds or even music, as much as I love music.

 I ended my run feeling much more refreshed, energized and alive.

 While I used to love driving in my car with the windows down and the radio up, that has changed to my sunroof open and the radio off. I still love the fresh air, but without the constant voices from the radio. There are still times that I turn the volume up on my radio while I sail down the highway, but more often than not I’m reveling in the solitude of silence. Especially after a day at work when I’ve heard nothing but chatter all day. That silence within the confines of my car is golden.

 While I used to have the television on while I was home, for background noise, if nothing else, now I find myself content to read in silence or cook while giving my full attention to the easy sounds, feel, and smells of what I’m cooking or baking.

 Silence encourages my mind to seek God in prayer or explore ideas for my next writing endeavor, mentally creating characters and story lines.  My mind drinks it in, my soul absorbing it as a beautiful rain quenches the thirst of a parched land.

Practicing meditation has taught my mind to even find silence in the middle of chaos and noise. To find that peacefulness and serenity when my head feels like it might explode from sensory overload.

Silence really is golden. It’s not lonely anymore because I’ve found peace within myself.

I have discovered that silence is not only the absence of sound, but the presence of stillness. With or without external noise. Simply stillness within.

And for that I am thankful.

All is Grace.