Quiet Please!

I have often wondered who decided that we needed to be constantly bombarded with noise day in and day out.   It seems everywhere you go there is noise.  Music, or news,or a sports game playing on a big screen, .  Even in my apartment there is music coming out of a speaker in front of the elevator on my floor,and in the lobby a television screen because how tragic would it be for me to have to be left uninformed in the brief time it takes the elevator to come. Even in the dr's office waiting room we are subjected to news being broadcast on a t.v in the waiting room.  There seems to be no escape from it.  Why is this?  Did people complain that they were bored in the waiting room or at the elevator or in the restaurants?   Don't we all have enough devices these days that we can plug in to entertain ourselves no matter where we are?  Is it too much to expect people who are eating together to actually talk to each other rather than gaze numbly at the latest headlines?

As you can probably guess, I like quiet.  I like it a lot.  My apartment is silent.  T.V is never on, unless I am watching a movie, I don't play any music, no ipod. When I am playing on line games I turn the music off.   And I like it that way.  I like music, but I always have music in my head and have no need to add to that.  I find noise distracting and as annoying and very stressful.  AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON LEAF BLOWERS!

Maybe it's that we are all afraid of our feelings. Maybe we need noise to distract us from what is going on inside ourselves.  Maybe we don't like to be alone with our thoughts.  They might make us face things we would rather not face in our own lives.  So we keep feeding our brains endless stimuli to mask that stuff.  Have you ever sat in silence?   Turned off everything in your home and just sat and listened?  You should try it.  It's amazing how relaxing it is.   When I leave a noisy place I feel my body release all of the tension I had been holding while being assaulted by noise.   And yes, even music is noise to me unless I am some place for the sole purpose of listening to music. The worst is when music is being piped in at a volume so low you can't tell what song is playing, but you can still hear it.

I was shopping at Target one Christmas and I noticed something interesting.  There was no music.  It was quiet!  And because there was no music, people who shopped there were quieter.  The whole place had a relaxed feel to it.  It was wonderful.  Costco is the same.  It is busy as hell most days and moving around in the store is a puzzle.  But the atmosphere is calm.  There is no music.  Just the sound of people shopping.

I think it would do wonders for peoples mental health to spend at least one hour a day in silence.  Not necessarily silent meditation, but just silence.  See if you feel more refreshed afterwards.

Forest Gumption

I know you probably groaned when you read the title of this blog.  But there is a reason for my terrible pun.   Studies have shown that spending time in a forest actually increases your energy level and decreases your stress level significantly.

One of my favourite forests is part of the Royal Botannical Gardens.  It's called Cherry Hill Gate.  It's magical.  The minute you walk through the entrance gate you feel it. It's like stepping in to another world.  A world free of pollution, noise, traffic, and all the many things that make us crazy.  The path slopes down a winding hill right away.  There is a railing along the edge so people don't accidentally fall down into the valley.  You are compelled to remain silent or speak softly once you enter this space.   Even young children are quiet in there.  They know.  They can feel the spiritual pull.

At the bottom of the winding hill there is a beautiful, huge, tree root.  And that tree root is full of life.  Just stand there for 10 minutes, silently.  Take in the smells, the sights, and the sounds around you.  Look up.  Breathe deeply.  And in a short while you will hear nature accepting you in their forest and inviting you to enjoy their home.  If you bring bird seed or peanuts, the birds and squirrels will eat right out of your hand.  They will land on you.  Some will linger and eat, some will just grab a seed and fly off.  Chickadees especially like to grab and go.  They take one seed and fly to a nearby branch and eat that one seed, and then come back for more.   There are sparrows, nuthatches, woodpeckers of the hairy and downy variety, warblers, blue jays, cardinals, cedar wax wings, robins....so many birds.  The forest is alive with all the busyness of animals living in a place where they feel safe and respected.  The squirrels and chipmunks will eat right out of your hand as well.  There are more chipmunks there than I have ever seen in one place!

Further along there is a board walk with a pond on each side.  We have seen turtles, swans, geese, ducks and even a muskrat once.   The trail goes much further, but I usually only go as far as that boardwalk.  It's a long walk back up that winding hill!

So, if you are feeling stressed out and anxious, don't reach for a cigarette or a drink, or a Xanax.  Go find a forest and sit there for as long as it takes for you to feel rejuvenated.  You will.  I promise.

http://www.hphpcentral.com/article/forest-bathing