Mute the World
We are built for connection, but we also need solitude. Most of us are starving for stillness, but are too busy to notice.
The silence must be immense where you are living right now, immense enough to allow such tumult of sound and motion. —Rainer Maria Rilke
I broke my silence and gorged on noise. After 30 days of retreat filled with solitude, intense reflection and transformative experiences, I was bursting inside. I wanted to tell my stories and listen to others. Everything was loud and beautiful.
As night approached, the giddiness turned into anxiety. The conversations from the day shouted to me as I tried to sleep—I couldn't wipe the palimpsest. It was like trying to scrub permanent marker off a dry erase board. The more I tried, the more anxious I felt. I had overindulged in noise.
In this sensitivity created by silence, I recognized that I needed to find a balance between the internal and external worlds.
We often fill our lives with distractions. Our culture promotes hyper-stimulation.
Our devices blink, buzz, and beep at us and lure us out of silence. Many people, when bored or anxious, pick up their phones or refresh their feeds, attempting to escape the present moment. Social media is a powerful mode of expression but requires careful discernment.
We are built for connection, but we also need solitude. Most of us are starving for stillness, but are too busy to notice.
Schedule time to fast from noise and feast on stillness.
Mute the world.
Explore your inner landscape and tune to your inner voice.
When you unmute, your voice will have more calm and clarity.