Quiet is Good

We all need a break sometime.. including our brains!

Breaks in life are pretty important. In a lot of ways breaks are one of the most important things we can have in a day. We aren't robots and we can't go constantly, without any type of pause or break, as much as we'd like to think that we can. This is especially true for our brains.

Our brains are pretty fascinating constructions. They are so incredibly complex that we don't fully know how or why they work and do the things they do. Scientists have started to understand some things, but are completely baffled by others and then how they all connect together to form just the normal everyday stuff that we have, it's pretty remarkable to say the least.

With our brains constantly going, all day every day, they sometimes need a bit of a break, especially with the digital world we live in where it's constantly go-go-go all day. I've been trying to practice this a little bit more and more throughout my week. I still highly enjoy listening to music while I'm working or podcasts while I'm doing chores and stuff, but I've started to try and find time where I can just sit in quiet and let my brain relax. I could still be putting away clothes or picking up, but instead of having music going or listening to a podcast, I just do it in silence.

I think this is important because evolutionarily our brains needed quite a bit of downtime. We would get the necessary action when it arose, but after that it was about unwinding and going into autopilot doing things. It's true to this day, potentially more true since we are so deeply stimulated by the vast technological world around us, that we have far fewer breaks now than we did before.

I think, though I can't prove it of course, that some of the neurological issues, stress issues and health issues people have is because of this constant feed of information, sounds and things like that. I don't necessarily go for Yoga or meditation, though it would probably help, I have just been trying to keep quiet and listen to the ambient noise of the house or things like that.

I've certainly enjoyed those times, such as the one I had tonight. I was putting clothes away slowly, just listening to the house instead of whatever the latest episode of the podcast that I found interesting. I will certainly listen to it tomorrow, but I think it's also important to have a little bit of peace in this fast-paced world.

I also was able to spend 10 minutes just sitting outside in the sun, since it was a warmer day in the 40's, so I just listened to the birds chirping and the wind blowing while I hung out on the deck and took some breaths. It certainly helped calm me down from the intense work week that's for sure! I am hoping that as the weather warms, I will get a few more opportunities per day to just sit out there on the deck, no music or technology, and just breathe the fresh air and let my mind soak in the natural noises of the world.

What about you, have you tried to do things where you sit in silence instead of having all kinds of noises going on around you? Let me know in the comments!