The Benefits of Silence

My daughter invited me to spend the weekend at a family cabin on the Chesapeake Bay for my birthday this year.

It was so quiet. The only sounds were our voices, birds chatting, water splashing against the bank, and wind scattering the beautiful, colorful fall leaves on the ground like puzzle pieces.

Exactly what I needed after suffering from a concussion at the beginning of the summer.

The unfortunate accident happened when I was working in our garden. I was bending over, pulling some weeds. My grandson called my name, and as I started to stand, the double iron shepherd’s hook started to fall. We met in the middle.

Benefits Of Silence Fb

I had no idea how much it hurt to be hit in the head with such a heavy piece of metal. At first, I thought it was just a bump on my head, but symptoms like a severe headache, neck pain, nausea, and dizziness didn’t ease up, so I went to the doctor.

A CT scan cleared me of a subdural hematoma (bleeding in the brain). However, the inflammation from the brain injury has caused post-concussion syndrome. Symptoms like headaches, visual problems, and cognitive problems, especially with memory, can last up to six months or longer.

My daughter planned the weekend to give me some rest and silence. And it helped a lot.

Most of us don’t get enough silence in our daily lives. Things like cell phones, music, TV and radio news, podcasts, and the multitude of sounds we create nonstop can be stressful.

However, silence can be healing in so many ways.

Medically: In the same way that noise can cause tension and stress, sitting in silence for about two minutes releases tension from the brain. It can be more beneficial than listening to ‘relaxing music’ because it changes blood circulation and pressure in the brain.

Productively: It helps us to concentrate, unlocks our creativity, allows innovative ideas to flourish, cultivates self-awareness, and fosters personal growth.

Spiritually, Psalms 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” The psalmist declares that God is our refuge and strength no matter what is happening around us. We are safe in the assurance that he is God. We can wait on him even amid chaos.

I know we can’t always get away to a quiet cabin in the woods, but there are ways we can create healing silence in our lives.

My favorite is gardening outdoors and indoors. Caring for plants and watching them grow gives me great peace.

Other quiet activities are reading, writing, drawing, or walking in nature, especially now when the air is cool and the fall colors are everywhere.

You can recharge your batteries and reduce stress by doing something you enjoy in a quiet space.

As an OR nurse, I was often on call on the weekends. We could never put our cell phones or beepers away. We had to carry them with us at all times if we had to return to the hospital for emergency surgery.

It made the weekends less relaxing. Having our phones with us all the time causes stress. Putting them away or in silent mode sometimes can be one of the ways to help us experience the healing power of silence.

The most important thing we can do to rest our bodies and brains is to get enough sleep at night.

Even adding a nap to our daily routine is good. Sometimes, when I lay down to nap, I rest in silence for a little while, and it recharges my mind and body.

Take care of yourselves.

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