Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Noise

Not merely an absence of noise, real silence begins when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary”.
-Peter Minard
 
Some times when I take a walk outside I cannot believe how noisy it is.  There have even been times when I was listening to music and it was so noisy I couldn’t hear my music.  We have almost reached a saturation point on this planet when there is no place on earth where you can get away from human activity and noise.  This is to say nothing about the noise inside each of our heads.  Most of us go through our day trying to accomplish our tasks despite the inner chatter that fills our thoughts.  I have used the analogy before of a tree full of monkeys to describe what is going on in our heads on a daily basis.  How can we stop the noise?  There is all kinds of noise.  A dump truck going down Main Street can be deafening.  It is a rare day that I don’t encounter an ambulance or fire truck on my evening commute.  If you work in the office there is often commotion and noise.  I am a music lover but a monk once said that even Beethoven played all day is noise.  By being present to the moment, by focusing on our breathing, and be taking advantage of all opportunities to be in quiet places, we can minimize the noise in our lives.  Spend some time in your day today being alone, being still, and being quiet.   

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