Silence please

A good friend of mine once told me that "The sound of silence can be deafening". Back then it sounded like a joke and all I did was laugh out loudly. 

Silence is awkward for most people. For me, it was definitely a challenge. As a kid, I struggled with silence. I was very uncomfortable and I always tried to fill it with some chatter. There was never a dull moment when I was with friends, probably because I never gave silence a chance! And if there was silence, I would usually fill it by humming a song in my awful voice. People who were knew me well noticed it, and whenever I hummed a song, asked me if I was ok.

As adults, a lot of us still struggle with silence. We have the uncomfortable habit of filling silent gaps with superficial talk. Or, we purposely avoid situations where noise is absent. We turn on the radio, play some music, call friends or family, or turn on the TV to fill this void. And the media makes great use of this by sensationalizing news and playing songs and videos that satisfy our senses. 

Smart phones and technology has made the situation even worse. They say that on an average, a person checks his phone at least 40 times a day. That's an average of 40 mins lost during the day. I think that is because we have lost the habit of staying silent. Of staying by ourselves.  

By silence, what I really mean is silencing the mind, calming down, slowing down. Giving the mind enough rest and putting it to use where it is absolutely needed. One of my goals for this year, (apart from fitness of course!) is to work on silencing the mind. Slowing down, stepping back and giving myself a better chance.

To put in the words of the great Bruce Lee: 

"Empty your mind, be formless. shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. Be water, my friend."