No. 9: Enjoying the silence
Life story: Years back, when I was in Europe, I had
gone for vacations along with two of my friends. On the first day, we sat together
to plan out the itinerary of the trip. We had a long list of ‘what to do’ and ‘what
to see’. We were fully immersed in our discussion, when one of us philosophically
said, “I suggest that we have some quiet moments every day. I want to enjoy the
silence.” Though we were a bit surprised, but we accepted the proposal. Every
day we kept aside ‘free time’. It was meant to spend time with oneself. On the
last day, we acknowledged that it was a wise decision that we have had some
quiet times. During those quiet moments, we felt close to ourselves, close to
God and in the process we felt close to each other.
We are busy people in a busy world. From dawn to dusk,
we keep ourselves busy with ‘doing’. Sometimes 24 hours is not sufficient. Many
of us prepare the list of ‘task to complete’ before going to bed for the next
day. It has also become a ritual for many to begin the day by browsing through
internet and conclude the day by doing the same.
In the lives of many great personalities we find ‘silence’
has a special place. They stated that they had found ‘inspiration and
consolations’ during quiet moments. St Ignatius of Loyola invites his followers
to spend some quiet time every day. The silence rejuvenates us, gives us energy
and refreshes us. It helps us to lead a happy life.
So, let’s make a decision to enjoy the silence
everyday. It will make a huge difference
in life...
