My voice carries. I’m not shy when I laugh. And I have been known to break the tension in group settings. But as the father of two young daughters, I also understand that value of quiet reflection.
On Jan. 10, President Obama requested a moment of silence in honor of the Tucson shooting victims. We at Lilja decided to observe that moment of silence, and at 10 a.m., time stopped.
Now I choose to keep my thoughts from this experience private, but I will describe what I learned from this period of silence.
For the first few moments, the mind starts to panic: “Why is it so quiet? Is something wrong? What should I be thinking about?” It’s in this mental drowning phase that you realize just how much you carry inside everyday. But as the seconds drip away, peace and quiet emerge once again, and you feel the return of something we often forget in this highly-connected, on-demand world: solitude.
To put it plainly, it’s a feeling we could afford to become reacquainted with, and I challenge you to do so. What you’ll discover once you find solitude again may surprise you.
I know I was.
-- Alex Cook
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| Singing bowls bring people in and out of silence in some traditions. |
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