This morning I sat by the lake. It’s been a busy first weekend in May opening up the cottage for another summer season.
Soon tall the cottages in the neighborhood will be full of exuberant noise. Splashing. Laughter. Chugging of boat motors. Barking – some of it from dogs.
But now in the first weekend of May, it is quiet. Peacefully quiet. Even the water is still – no waves are lapping the sandy shoreline.
It is so quiet that one can hear things. Soft birdsong. The buzz of a newly hatched insect. The gentle breeze rustling through half-formed leaves.
It is so quiet that I can hear the morning sunrays bouncing off the still sparkling water.
So is this what “Quiet” really is?
So is it really Quiet?
Is Quiet the absence of sound?
For there are many sounds where one sits in Nature’s Peace.
I do not consider Quiet to be the absence of sound.
Rather, it is the absence of sound that does not belong.
Sitting by the lake in the hours of early dawn, there are no human manufactured noises. Only the noises that have always belonged to this place.
Quiet – the absence of sound that does not belong.
Perhaps then, achieving Quiet in our own minds is about the elimination of noise that does not belong. Noise such as those painful thoughts that are not true. Persistent inner voices that tell us that we are just not good enough. Noisy words that rob us of our joy.
Make the decision to rid yourself of these noisy words. It will probably take time. It might take help from others. But finding your Quiet is so worth the journey.
I invite you to find a quiet place out in a natural setting and embrace the quiet.
And begin to embrace the Quiet within yourself.
