Quiet…its a word that can mean different things to different people at different times. For some it is silence, for some peace, for some stillness. For nurses eveeywhere it a bad word, uttered just before all hell breaks loose. I have thought about quiet recently as it is something I hear from clients a lot—that they are lookimg for quiet. For some quiet is a time to regenerate and de-stress but for others it feels lonely and scary.
I have reached a point in my life where I appreciate quiet more. There was a time when I wanted to be constantly on the go, busy and not still. It was difficult for me to be still because my mind was never quiet and when I was physically still the noise in my own mind was overwhelming. I am not exactly sure when the change happened, I imagine it happened slowly over time, but recently I am able to find internal quiet in the loudest circumstances (SOMETIMES-progress not perfection). It brings me a clarity that I haven’t always been able tofind before.
Part of the transition definitely came when I learned to recognize cues from my nervous system that something is happening and something is needed. What is needed may be time, it may be space, it may be information or guidance from someone else but when I ignore the cues and try to push past that is when the noise in my head intensifies. When I practice taking a pause rather than plowing ahead I am able to bring back the quiet.
What I have learned and what I hope to share with my future clients is that each of us can learn to have quiet and knowing within our own selves. Even in situations where things are loud, chaotic and upsetting each of us can learn to recognize and regulate the internal volume. It may not be possible to turn the volume off but sometimes a slight decrease allows the space for clarity.
Its not easy to learn how to create quiet within yourself. Its challenging and it forces you to look inside for calm and nuturing. It comes once you recognize that you can have control and make choices over how you react to all of the external stimuli coming your way. This takes a lot of practice! But, when you can find quiet within yourself in the loudest places perspective can shift.
When your internal noise is loudest, what do you need? Is there an unmet that that if acknowledged can finally rest?
