Today I walked in the city's botanic gardens, sat and read a book for a short time and ate lunch there. I shared it with the birds; the little things vociferously competed with each other over the tiny morsels I'd throw onto the path for them and I sat on the park bench watching their quick movements as they darted in for the crumbs. There was nothing particularly special about it, it was just a day but I allowed it to sink inside and sooth me a little. I wanted to find silence, and I did.
I didn't speak much all day, just with my partner before he left for work and very briefly with the lady at the caf茅 where I bought my lunch and coffee. I wanted silence; I wanted to be silent, more to the point, which I suppose some may find strange in a world that seems consistently noisy.
I took this image
I think the world is sometimes too noisy for people to hear themselves very well.
What I mean is, the world holds so many distractions, we have so many things to do, decisions and plans to make and actions to take that it's difficult not to think about something at almost any given point of the day. I believe that prevents people from thinking about themselves, looking inwardly, reflecting, and understanding what's required for themselves...what's truly needed for an individual to feel good, happy, content among other things, and to understand when they are not feeling that way and how to rectify that.
Understanding how we feel and think, the thoughts and attitudes we have, can help us live a more fulfilled life by either embracing and enjoying the good parts more and working to affect the bad...and if we can't listen to ourselves how are we to know?
That's why I try and find silent moments, remove distractions and look within.
I generally find some out of the way place, not somewhere where I might find myself in trouble of course, just a situation in which I have the least chance of being disturbed, and most of the time that place is in a garden, sometimes my own and often the botanic gardens or a park.
Today I read a little but, before long, closed the book and focused on understanding how I felt and thought, the quality of my thoughts and feelings I suppose; I listened intently to myself. It was a lovely time, valuable to my wellbeing and I came to some realisations which, over the last few weeks, hadn't been apparent considering the complexity that is my life right now.
When I arrived home I felt...better, more open to myself and settled...it's like I threw the curtains open and let light flood in. I felt peaceful, but energised and much more able to deal with the things life entails.
Over dinner with my partner in the evening, we spoke about my day and his own and compared the value we'd each received. He'd had a difficult day at work and we didn't speak for long about it as he didn't want to re-live it, but I excitedly told him about mine, the quiet moments, lunch with the birds and how I felt because of it. The retelling extended the value I'd gained and allowed me to share some of it with him.
Later, we lapsed into silence whilst cuddling on the couch and I fell asleep in his arms, content, happy and fulfilled. It was another of those silent moments I love so much and a perfect way to end a day of reflection and contemplation.
Becca 馃挆