Turn out to be Quiet So You Can Pay attention

By Leo Babauta

“The quieter you develop into, the extra you’ll be able to hear.”

― Rumi

There’s hardly ever a second within the day when most of us cease shifting and cease the noise. For many of us, we’re working, we’re shifting, we’re driving, we’re listening to issues on our headphones, we’re watching issues, we’re filling up the little areas by checking our telephones.

This isn’t unsuitable — it’s a really human tendency to wish to be busy, productive, filling each house with one thing helpful or entertaining.

However what if we may let ourselves develop into quiet?

What occurs is one thing magical: we begin to uncover a brand new manner of being alive, and a deeper expertise begins to disclose itself to us.

What does it imply to develop into quiet? There isn’t a easy reply to this, however listed below are a few of what I’ve been studying:

• It means slowing down for no less than a couple of minutes, bodily — chorus from shifting round doing numerous issues, chorus from doing a bunch of duties in your laptop or telephone, however as an alternative simply sit or come to some sort of stillness or slowness.
• It doesn’t imply you could meditate — although in fact that’s one approach to do it. As a substitute, you would go for a quiet stroll in nature, or sit watching the sundown, or lie in a hammock and simply really feel the breeze.
• Transfer away from know-how, no less than for a couple of minutes. Disconnect. Let go of studying and listening as properly. Simply sit nonetheless or transfer slowly, not making an attempt to get something completed or devour something.
• It means you let go of being productive or being entertained. You don’t want to realize something, show something, be excited. You let go of those sorts of compulsions, even for a couple of minutes.
• It means you don’t have to really feel a sure manner, or keep away from feeling a sure manner. For instance, lots of people wish to really feel productive, competent, entertained, so we do no matter we will to get these sorts of emotions. Additionally, we don’t wish to really feel bored, lonely, unhappy, helpless … so we do every part we will with a purpose to keep away from these emotions. Changing into quiet means we will permit ourselves to really feel nevertheless we really feel, simply permitting it to be our expertise. This provides us a freedom for all times to be simply as it’s, and for ourselves to be simply how we’re, nevertheless we’re feeling.

Stillness and quiet aren’t the sexiest issues, the place you can also make some huge cash or get a bunch of followers or viewers. We don’t often notice we’re craving quiet. However in my expertise, that is the place the deepest expertise of life lies, within the quietude.

What may you hear within the stillness and quiet? What life has to say.

“In stillness, the world is restored.” — Lao Tzu