Naturally Quiet

/ Ally Bean

For me, quiet is the essence.  It is the place from which I make all my best decisions.

It is the reason that I like to sit with a mug of coffee in the morning– or a glass of wine before dinner.  Quietly.  Reflecting on what is to come– or what has happened.

I need quiet to know who I am.

I grew up an only child in a home with older, bookish parents.  We had a TV but it was only on for news & specific shows.  We had a radio for more news & music.  We had a record player, but it was only on for the length of the record.

And then there was silence.  Quiet.  The place to go and think and grow and create.

I’ve come to realize that most people I know like noise & distractions & movement.  Endless movement.  I am the odd one.

But for me the ability to move, to know what to do next, to continue on– come from the quiet moments that give me the confidence to keep going.

{ This is a writing exercise hosted by Lisa-Jo Baker, aka Gypsy Mama.  To read more about it, click on the button below.  Perhaps you’d like to join in, too. }  

Five Minute Friday

22 thoughts on “Naturally Quiet”

  2. I guess that I linked this post to the proper place. Hope so. Linky lists and I have a long history of not working well together. One of us is always goofing up.

    Like

  3. Okay, as I mentioned on Sunday in the comments section of my post, I am unable to leave comments on some Blogger blogs. I don’t know why, but instead of my comment showing up on the blog… it just goes *poof* & disappears.

    I mention this again because according to the instructions for this writing exercise I am to go to the blogger in front of me on the linky list and say “hi!”

    Well, I just did that and guess where my comment went? Into nowhere. Again.

    Anyone know what’s going on with Blogger [this time]? It’s always something…

    Like

    • HA! I got Blogger to take my comment. I went to my Blogger acct, refreshed the page… and then Blogger decided that it would accept my comment.

      Why? I know not. All I know is that I succeeded in triumphing over the wacky system… this time.

      Like

  5. I like your post this morning, Ally. Quiet is very important to me, also. It seems hard to find, even down here where there are relatively few people.

    And gratz! on the linky. 🙂

    Like

    • Zazzy, thanks. Funny how some people just know that they NEED quiet to thrive– while to others quiet is an annoyance.

      And yes, I linked… and I’m darned proud of it.

      Like

  7. Quiet time is very productive and centering. People need to reflect and reorganize in quiet.
    Some people simply cannot stand to be quiet or still – and I think that number is growing with all the intrusive noises of society and technology.
    Maybe that’s why our kids are so hyper and stressed – their “quiet” is destroyed in childhood – and they never learn how to use it or value it? To learn measured responses and delayed gratification?
    Not good for society as a whole either?
    Wonderful post.( Will leave you in peace and quiet now!)

    Like

    • philosophermouse, I hadn’t thought of the societal implications of not being quiet. You bring up good points. Without the ability to detach from the Sturm und Drang of daily life, I imagine that I’d be hyper & stressed, too. Poor kids.

      Like

  8. I so agree with philosophermouse! The kids of today don’t know what quiet is–way too many distractions. When my kids were growing up everyone took a quiet time in their rooms every afternoon. It was good for all of us!

    Like

    • Beth, why am I not surprised to hear that?!! 😉 Quiet rocks, but seems to be difficult for some people to handle. For me, it is so natural. Different strokes, I suppose.

      Like

      • Perhaps there is a definition issue at play – a kid playing a game on his phone with ear buds in may believe himself to be “quiet.” As to others that is true, but that, of course, misses the Bean’s point because his mind is not quiet. Much of it is that the machines are so readily available, but it is really about an attitude that the parent/dominant authority must assert to keep the child in balance. Bean – thanks for helping me “get quiet” on a daily basis.

        Like

  10. Too many people fill their lives with noise and distraction instead of thinking and problem solving. Have you looked at the world lately? I blame it on lack of quiet and introspection!

    Like

Comments are closed.