The Joy of Quiet

In our frenetic, hectic world, quiet time is a luxurious commodity. Sometimes, when I watch the New York Stock Exchange ticker, I expect to see QUT scrolling by trading high. Usually during my week, I try to block out a day for myself when I have nothing on the calendar so I can catch up on miscellaneous things. And by that, I mean, um, I am a huge couch potato, lounging in my pajamas, praying for rain so I don't have to change out of my pj's to pick up our children at the bus stop. But this week was chock-a-block full. We had dentist appointments, vet appointments, orthodontist appointments, tutoring and volunteer obligations, extra curriculars, play dates, an evening International Festival at school and a few coffee friendship dates. And that whole Daylight Savings time thingy....what the heck...with a puppy thrown in the mix. Needless to say, I was dragging like an old farm mule come Saturday.

Nature Walk on our Neighborhood Greenway
after a winter snowfall. Beautiful solitude.

And then my husband did this amazing gesture of taking Sadie (aforementioned 13-week-old puppy) and two children to Bond Park for a glorious morning hike. Sigh. This is my Nirvana: a house to myself with nowhere to be at any given time. I poured a cup of freshly brewed coffee into my one and only hand crafted ceramic mug. I turned off the iPad, closed the desktop, pressed my phone to mute and sat propped up by two fluffy pillows on our kitchen banquet. Which sits below a wall of windows that overlooks our beautiful backyard full of tall pine trees, barely budding Japanese maple trees, one or two blooming daffodils and a bounty of wildlife. I stretched out my pajama clad legs and placed one ankle on top of the other. I looked at my steaming cup of coffee and took a sip. I burned the roof of my mouth and the tip of my tongue and oh my word, I was comfortably numb. I opened up my library book, sighed and closed the water stained pages. And I listened. I listened to Nature's Orchestra composing and playing outside my window. I heard twitters and caws. I heard frantic chatter. I heard the rustling of leaves, branches and bark as squirrels chased one another on their immense playground. I watched two vibrant Cardinals dance WAY better than anyone on a TV show. I saw "Chunky" perched on the zip line platform, surveying his kingdom (he is the biggest squirrel any of us have ever laid eyes on). I watched sunlight play hide and seek among the trees and ground. I watched a bird flutter on our deck railing, pondering, wondering and searching before flying to another destination. I saw big birds and heard big birds. I watched, adoringly, little birds with little beaks, little feet and big bellies tentatively hop on the ground. I whispered a prayer especially for their safety.
On Sunday mornings, if we don't attend church, I make sure to watch Charles Osgood on CBS Sunday Morning. To me, he is comforting, like a really good chicken pot pie. His voice is soothing, his manner genteel and I eagerly await for his announcement of the nature segment to end the 90-minute filled news show. It is totally organic and was organic before organic was cool. The soundtrack and the film is 100% natural. No additives or preservatives. Gluten free. Cholesterol free. Human free. A gentle reminder that all of us need to slow down for a minute and observe the free art surrounding us each and every day.
I looked up at my wall calendar while I was typing this entry and noticed next week is pretty chock-a-block full, too. One day includes a field trip to the Life and Science Museum in Durham, NC. I hope I can pretend to be Charles Osgood and introduce my youngest child to the beauty that surrounds us, to take notice and appreciate "things" we did not create, but yet should still feel obligated to interact with on a daily basis. I hope for a moment, 25 Kindergartners will be in awe of nature and I hope a seed will be planted that later in life, a little quiet should always grow in their busy garden life.
Shhhhh. Listen. Do you hear that? Yeah, me neither. Stillness is a completely underrated, serendipitously, joyful sound. Bose could only hope to capture the same surround sound effect, but until then, I will open up my windows, burn my tongue on hot coffee, and fill my house with the majestic, joyful sound that only nature can create. Quietly. Poetically. Joyfully.
Quiet. Try it. It does a body good.