The Beauty Of Silence by Rambling Raven 

Friday, I returned home from a very long and difficult day of work. I was so thrilled to finally see the end of the week. I had everything planned for my weekend. I was going to get out and enjoy some of the sun that was finally peeking through the Chicago skyline. I was also going to: return several phone calls, respond to a zillion e-mails, pay bills, go shopping, read a book or two, catch up on a few television shows, clean my bedroom, do a little on-line shopping, grade papers, prepare lesson plans and try and get some much need sleep. 

I sat and made my little list of things to do. As I was making the list recalled more things that needed to be tackled, and before I knew it, my little list became a long tedious one. Wondering how I was going to do everything that I needed to do within roughly 72 hours I became a little anxious. Like many people, I put off a lot of my chores until the weekend because my work week is hectic enough without adding a string of extras into it. Taking a deep breath, I ripped the list up and proceeded to give myself some much needed quiet time. 

I sat and began prioritizing everything. I first disconnected myself from the world. Honestly, I didn’t have to answer all those e-mails. Most of the messages were from friends and acquaintances. I didn’t have to immediately respond to everyone who wanted to say hello. After all, I spoke and e-mailed those people at least thirty times throughout the week. They could wait until Monday, along with those who wanted to engage in instant messaging, texting, checking in on Facebook, Twitter and a gazillion other social sites out there. I turned my computer off, and directed every cell phone call straight to voice mail. Periodically, I would check just to make sure nothing serious was going on that needed my attention. It’s just that this time I was not going to be tethered to a computer or phone. 

Next, I paid the bills and got only the most necessary shopping out of the way. I really didn’t need to do all the shopping I had planned. A lot of what I was proposing to buy was impulse buying anyway. Another week contemplating a purchase here or there wasn’t going to do me any harm; if anything, it would save me money in the long run. 

I then decided that those television shows could wait also. I spend too much time watching TV anyway. I have been known to hunker down on a weekend and waste hours glued to the tube, precious time that could be used so much more productively. I sometimes fool myself by saying that a lot of what I watch is often educational, like the Discovery Channel and CNN. The truth of the matter is, a lot of television viewing time is wasted on useless shows and movies. I vowed not to touch the television the entire weekend. 

In the end I was left with grading papers and planning for the following week, these all went by much faster than I anticipated, leaving me with a silent house and a book. At first things seemed a little too silent for me, since I live alone, I often resort to using the television or radio on for background noise. It took a minute but I got use to just the silence. No ringing phone, no beeping to indicate that I had a new e-mail or instant message, and no noise from the television or the radio. I had total silence, and I loved it. I took out my journal for the first time in weeks and wrote until my fingers were sore. I read a book from beginning to end without any distractions, and I slept peacefully. Most importantly, I thought. I thought about anything and everything. I reminisced, fantasized and I planned for the future. I got creative and came up with several storylines that hopefully can translate into full bloom manuscripts one day.  In the end the silence helped to connect me back to me. And it was so relaxing. Outside the world went by like it always does, and for the first time in a long while I was content to just let it pass me by.

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