Wellness Wednesday – The Healing Sound of Silence

“Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven’t the answer to a question you’ve been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause of a room full of people when someone is just about to speak, or, most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and you’re alone in the whole house? Each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful if you listen carefully.”
― Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth 

Today’s challenge:  Hush up.

For a period of time this week, experience as much silence as you can.
Turn off the buzzing fluorescent lights, unplug or de-battery the ticking clocks, shush the electronics and radio and Get Quiet.  Take a vow of silence, for 5 minutes or for the day.  We live in a hyperstimulated world. The lack of quiet has definitive effects, and studies have shown that periods of quiet can lower blood pressure, relieve tension and improve sleep. Data from the World Health Organization show noise pollution to be the second largest cause of environmental health problems, second only to air pollution.  It’s responsible for deficits in our hearing, attention and even cardiac health.    

Gustavo Razzetti writes about how noise harms us and silence can heal. He offers several interesting ways to experiment with quiet here: Why Silence is the Think Tank of the Soul.

There’s really no such thing as true silence in the natural world, and certainly not in the human-filled one. But cut the noise as much as you can. See what happens.  Maybe that small still voice will show up.  If nothing else, you’ll give your brain a rest.

Image by storyset on Freepik