Quiet Time

Turning down the noise

I had the house to myself for a few days—a gift for any introvert—and decided to turn down all the usual noise around me in order to hear what I have to think. I made a list of the things that I wanted to dial down; a not-to-do list if you will. It read: no news/media, step away from social media, delete LinkedIn (the worst) app, no housework or busy work, low communication with family members, no podcasts or audio books. Try to stay off my phone.

There is quite a bit of evidence that noise is difficult for introverts or sensitive people who value calm and peace. I know that for myself, I have a hard time focusing on anything when I am interrupted or there is background noise or chatter in my brain. I am working on a passion project right now and I wanted to give it my full attention. I wanted to prioritize quieting my mind so that I could make my art.

How did it go? Well, I did vacuum the house the first day. My cattle dog is currently blowing out her coat and there were little nests of dog hair on the floor. I decided to spend one hour dusting and vacuuming so that I didn’t have to be annoyed every time I saw it. I stayed off news and most social media except for Instagram (ugghhh) and I did not listen to a book or podcast. Overall, I would give myself a score of 75%. Pretty good.

What did I learn? The quietude of the house and my brain was refreshing and gave me energy. I need a clean house in order to relax. I made progress on my creative project in a way I have not been able to do before and that is valuable to me. I enjoy hearing my own voice and tapping into my intuition.

Without other distractions I was able to get into the flow state and immerse in the process of creating something. It’s such a pleasure to work unbothered and without any responsibilities. It was nice to not have to think about the needs of others. What did I think? Am I hungry? What do I want to eat? It turned out to be a turkey-avocado sandwich at 3:00 on Saturday. It was also a garden tomato.

In order to set myself up for success, I had to take care of a few things, like walking the dog, drinking a glass of water and telling people not to call or text me. I also needed to vacuum the house. I wasn’t perfect - I did check my phone, have a conversation with my husband, and speak to a young man at the deli when I was picking up my sandwich.

I bought one, meaty heirloom tomato from the produce section to accompany my sandwich and while the enthusiastic young guy was ringing me up he said, “that’s a huge tomato!” And I said, “isn’t it beautiful?”

What was beautiful about my time immersed in solitude and quiet is that I remembered things about myself that I had forgotten.

I remembered that I need to leave the world every so often and live in my own world. That it’s important to me to hear what I have to think. I was reminded that my soul needs to make art.

I remembered that there are few things in life as satisfying as a garden tomato.