The Gift Of Silence

Silence is more than golden.  It is heart healthy!

Recently my daughter had minor foot surgery.  Even though it was a minor procedure, she was rather anxious.  Which, of course, is understandable.

Something interesting happened in the waiting room.

We arrived early to fill out the paperwork, and ended up with an extra 15 minutes to fill.  My daughter brought a book to read, and we were also chatting.  In the waiting room, however, was a television, tuned to a 24-hour news channel.  Several years ago our whole family stopped watching television news.  The sensationalized version of daily events creates too much stress.  My husband and I read a daily newspaper and have a few, well selected, online news sources we check a few times per day.  Which explains, perhaps, why the barrage of “oh my gosh look what terrible thing is happening right now” from the waiting room television was so disturbing.

As we waited, my daughter’s eyes darted back and forth between her book and the television, her posture became more and more tense.  After about 5 minutes, I asked the receptionist if we could change the channel or turn the television off. (We were the only people in the waiting room.)  The receptionist looked at me as if I was a bit nuts, but agreed that I could turn it off.

Silence.

My daughter sighed, and relaxed.  Me too.  Don’t get me wrong, she was still worried about the surgery, but the silence was comforting.

How often do you enjoy silence?

So often there is a constant background noise in our lives.  Stores blast music, even offices have a soundtrack.  Television news channels play everywhere.  On a vacation out of the country, I was disturbed to find a television playing CNN at the pool.  THE POOL!!

Not only does silence spur creativity and focus, silence is good for your heart. In a study published by the American Psychological Association, constant noise was found to increase blood pressure, increase stress hormone levels, and increase the risk of heart disease.

Think about it.

How often do you cultivate silence?

Do you step up and ask people to turn it down?

How does noise effect your stress level, creativity, or focus?

Let us know what you think in a comment below.  Thanks!