Chapter 14Quiet Time: Restoring and Recharging Your Mind
Stop right now and listen to what’s around you. What do you hear? Music? An alert from your phone? A news anchor chattering on the TV or radio?
The nonstop noise that surrounds us doesn’t abate. As the Kenny Chesney song “Noise” sadly observes, we had no role in getting it all started and little power to shut it down.
Clearly there’s need for more quiet in our day. Time to think, rest, reflect, and recharge.
We have opportunities to do this, yet we don’t take advantage of them enough. For example, on our commute we can turn off the radio for a few minutes. Sitting down after school or work, we can unplug from technology for a few minutes. At the end of the day, we can go to sleep on time, without one more look at our smartphones. In the moment, we can spend time in silence before the day begins.
Quiet is our weapon to counter noise.
Our brains crave quiet yet it’s elusive, and we resist seeking it. Spiritual writers prescribe that we dedicate daily moments for prayerful reflection, and mindfulness experts share tips on meditation practices. There are even apps dedicated to relaxation and stress reduction. All of this is meant to calm and center our brains, but if you talk to anyone who has tried to follow any of these exercises seriously, they’ll tell you how challenging it is, at least at first.
Dedicating some time for quiet is a hard but worthwhile habit. Our brains are high-performance engines that race at high speeds, ...
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