Dear February… for such a short month you sure are feeling incredibly long!
Yes, this month I began to work on what I have now confirmed will be the most challenging aspect of Yutori…at least for me… the embrace of silence.
Never miss a good chance to shut up! — Will Rogers
Truer words were never spoken… sigh. Back in the day I had a boss who shared a “sales tip” about silence… “he who speaks first… loses.” I was not comfortable with the silence then… and not much has changed since then. Silence is challenging for me.
But I tried to approach it from a different angle… listening more… and by listening, I mean actual, active listening. (not “reactive listening“) Big news… this was as much a challenge in my house as settling in with silence.
However, I did make some big changes to my “normal routine” and while it was still a struggle, it did get a bit easier. The Biggest Change… no audiobook in my ears for any walks with Frankie… instead be focused on listening to the change in the sounds around me. As you might imagine, my very early walk with Frankie is almost completely silent… no cars, no birds, no planes (we are in a flight path of the Pittsburgh Airport) and it is just the most amazing time… the only sounds are the ones Frankie and I make as we amble along. It has become my favorite time of the day… we even heard what I think was likely a coyote early one morning… something I would have missed if a narrator was talking in my ears! No other walk has the same silence… the noises of the day are companions as we amble along… kids shouting, cars coming and going, so many planes (which have their own hilarious quality… Frankie is fascinated by them and he watches them as they soar over head as they prepare to land at the airport!)
There has been a marked increase in birdsong as February has inched along! I can listen to “territory wars” from a plethora of birds! I am thankful that the birds are reminding me that spring is coming… and they are preparing for it by picking the perfect spot to “claim” as their own for nesting season!
I reinforced my return to “morning quiet time” … at least on the mornings Steve is not home… sigh. Quiet with Steve home is a challenge. But I have managed to stretch quiet mornings 4 days a week to a magnificent 40-50 minutes! My journals are reflecting this really excellent silence… now it is not totally silent… I can hear the hum of the refrigerator, and the furnace, and, most recently, the wild wintry winds… companions to the scratch of my pen as I write.
I’ve begun to realize that you can listen to silence and learn from it. It has a quality and a dimension all its own. — Chaim Potok
I still have miles to go on finding comfort in the silence, but I have made what I hope is a good start and that start will, hopefully, be the foundation I build on as the year progresses!
So I ask this question to all of you who are examining what a word might bring to your days… what did you learn this month as you contemplated your words?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below!
It’s also hard for me to have silence when I’m not actively doing something else, but I can imagine that being outside in the early morning at this time of year, it’s also an opportunity to hear the changes in nature that herald the impending arrival of spring. I’ve noticed an increase in birdsong as well — and it’s so welcome!
This is nice Kat! Speaking as someone who has always loved silence. Maybe that stems from being such an avid reader as a kid? I like it to be quiet when I read. Fletch on the other hand always has the TV on, music on (sometimes both at once which makes me crazy!! lol). I love the silence during my walks – no audio book or music or pod casts for me. Plus, I want to be able to hear if someone is coming up behind me – either running or biking – so that I don’t veer into their path! And bird song (or sometimes just bird chatter) is so nice to hear.
Wow – I love your commitment to finding little bits of silence. I said in a previous comment that I’ve considered turning my audiobooks off while walking but have had a hard time doing that… and now I want to try again.
Thank you for experimenting with this and describing your experience so beautifully!
I’ve rarely been out for a walk in the quiet of the morning but your description sounds lovely! I’m naturally quiet in the morning – I like to wake up quietly and slowly, but often have John jabbering at me. I know how hard it is to control silence when there is another person around! You are off to a wonderful start with yatori. I hope March comes in quietly like a lamb and stays that way for you.
I feel sorry for walkers I see on the local hike/bike trail who are listening to devices. They are missing so much of the whole experience. We have a lot of silence at our house, sometimes too much. But it does keep the stress levels down.
I loved my early morning dog walks, but the time I really love is being first person out in a town. Doesn’t happen these days but when I had jobs in retail I loved the walk through town as people came to work and the shops started to open. The feeling of being first person through the door and preparing the shop for opening, even the clearing up of chicken bones from the punters who thought KFC debris could be pushed through the railings for me to dispose of. I love silence. In fact if things get too noisy I will remove myself froma siutaion. Hurrah for park benches. Such a lovely post from you today.
My thoughts echo Vera’s. And to that, I’ll add that the break from audiobooks (etc.) allows my thoughts to surface, similar to the way they do when meditating or showering. It DOES mean Less…to borrow Sarah’s word!…in what one can ‘check off a [TBR] list.’ But it’s worth it. (And it means fewer mistakes in my knitting!)
This could be quite a long-term takeaway — and so early in your One Word year!
Hoping to get my check-in post added here in the next few days, after returning from a week away.
what a lovely post, there is no quiet when my husband is playing music. I try to tune it out. I just started to walk and meditate and liked how I was doing two things at the same time but then I missed hearing my neighborhood, so now I switch it up frequently so I have both.
Your early morning walk with silence sounds heavenly. It’s so hard to quiet the noise of the world so I admire you for trying. I walk with no earbuds and love the quiet. I can’t say the neighborhood is silent but quiet. In January nourish was all about physical nourishment and recovering from Covid. This month I focused on nourishment for my spirit.
I’m sure it’s no surprise, being a librarian, that I am a HUGE fan of quiet. When I am home alone all day I never turn on the tv or music or any other sound and I love that peacefulness so much. Sounds like you are figuring out was to appreciate the quiet, good for you.