Making Time to be Quiet
Happy New Year!
It’s been quite some time since I’ve entered a blog post or sent out a newsletter. I do have a great excuse, but I apologize for not having been in touch more regularly. What I have been wanting to write about, even though it is a happy subject, has been remarkably elusive when I have tried to put it on a page.
In deference to a writer and speaker with more experience, I will share with you a TED Talk that inspired me many months ago and which has been on my mind fairly often ever since. It’s called The Art of Stillness. The author is Pico Iyer.
I was listening to the radio while traveling home from a client appointment a few months ago and heard an interview about this talk on the TED Radio Hour. There were a couple of themes in the talk that really struck me.
Pico Iyer talked about how important it is to take daily time to be quiet and focus – just as we would take daily time to exercise. His point was that both of these activities are integral to the maintenance of our overall health. And, he said, when life hands us challenges, what we glean from the process of quiet reflection provides us with powerful sustenance. Here’s how he said it in the radio interview:
“…a couple of years ago, I went to see my doctor, and he looked at my chart. And he said, you’re pretty healthy, but you must take exercise 30 minutes a day. And as soon as he said that, I signed up at a health club, and I go every day of my life. But when somebody says, you should take 30 minutes being quiet everyday – going to the mental health club ensuring that your imagination and mind and spirit are as healthy as your body. I’d say, oh, no, I don’t have time to sit in a corner for 30 minutes or take a walk or unplug. And yet, that’s much more fundamental, I would say, to my well-being and my overall health than walking the treadmill.”
He also talked about finding balance in life. Even when you have a super-interesting job, he says, it’s still just as important to make sure you are taking time to refuel and make sure you’re attuned to your life as a whole.
Over the past few months, I’ve taken more time to be with family and friends. I’m working on building a relationship technology that allows me to be responsive and engaged while also taking the time I need to be grounded and quiet. Even though it’s meant I’m writing less frequently, I’ve enjoyed the additional deep breaths I’ve been able to take, the new recipes I’ve been able to try, and ok … a few more moments on the couch with our cat Dos after a long day’s work.
Here’s to a very happy 2015 for you and hopefully a peaceful and reflective one as well.