Weekly Letter: Is Quiet the new commodity?

A few years ago, my husband was leaving on a Sunday afternoon to go stay with his mom for a few days and help her with a house project. She lives out of state, so he would be gone for 3 nights.

I was looking forward to having the first evening to myself (I worked the other 2). My whole plan was to order Thai House and watch a movie and I was really looking forward to it.

Less than an hour after he left, my mom and nephew stopped by. Then shortly after they left, a friend was out riding his scooter and stopped at the house to say hi. After he left, I ordered my food and a teacher at the studio lost her key and needed me to let her into the studio for her event…which meant helping her lock up too.

At one point, I texted Levi and asked him if he was ‘punking’ me.

All I wanted was a few hours of quiet, with no responsibility to anything and it never happened.

Since then, I’ve often wondered if quiet is becoming a commodity. Is this something we have grown to crave in a 24/7 world. Even had the night gone as planned, I still would have been on devices. So what quiet was I ultimately seeking?

I know some people come to the studio because their house is a little more challenging to practice in, between the dogs, kids or more, when you’re home, you’re home. Closing a door isn’t enough distance to have a peaceful practice.

When you give your time over to someone else’s space and rules, then the distractions are fewer and the need to be present for others can wait until the hour is up. You’ve carved this time out for yourself to checkout of life’s movement and tune in to yourself to see what you might notice and to also nurture a part of you so when you go back to all the demands of home, you’re ready to be present with it.

Maybe it’s not the quiet exactly. Maybe its just subtracting the extras for a time.

~Carmen