Many times we find silence to be intolerable, We would rather have a television blaring in the background or a radio running constantly. Or maybe a social media video drowning that silence. Many of us have experienced this!
The reason we love to have a sound always in the background is because of the loud noise in our head, this incessant chatter in our mind that's constantly going on. Often, this voice in the head is terribly unpleasant. So unpleasant that we do not want to hear it.
Sometimes, it is just a habitual pattern that takes over our mind - a pattern of overthinking about something or the other.
The noise in our head maybe about:
- A mental conversation we are having with someone or with ourselves,
- Thinking about some event that happened in the past,
- A conversation that we have had with someone recently, something that we're thinking about again and again.
- A constantly recurring worrying thought
- and so many trillion of thoughts that generate noise in our mind.
All this incessant chatter, this constant dialogue that's going on in our minds is so, overwhelming that we don't want to face that.
We would rather drown it with some noise that's happening externally.
Here are some examples of what we may choose to drown the internal noise with:
- Media: Television or radio blaring constantly in the background.
- Call someone and talk to them.
- Get into social media and try to overwhelm the internal chatter with new information, videos or posts.
- Listening to some podcasts even when you are in the bathroom.
Do you relate to this? Do share your own examples in the comments!
We find it so difficult to just be by ourselves. We find it extremely hard to sit quietly and close our eyes and just be there.
We find it hard to mindful and present to conversations. We are unable to focus for longer periods of time on stillness and the presence that is within us. We are unable to connect within to our own source energy. All these are so difficult because of this constant noise in our head.
I want to emphasize that internal silence is a sign of peace and this is very, very important for us.
If we hope to have peace within ourselves, we have to first find peace in our minds by slowing down that chatter by quieting that voice of the mind a little bit.
There is no point in drowning the inner noise with external noise. External noise only generates more internal chatter.
Silence is an important prerequisite for peace. Start thinking about the need for silence in your life. Identify how you can create more silence in your lives. If the internal noise is unbearable, confront it, manage it and teach your mind to quieten down. If necessary, seek support.
Once we learn to become comfortable with external silence, we find silence not only to be tolerable, but something that we want.
Drowning the inner noise with external noise is not the answer. Start your journey by dedicating a couple of minutes everyday to be in silence- just observing and witnessing your thoughts. Practice mindfulness in small things like eating, going to the bathroom.
Seek silence. Seek places where there is silence. Seek people who enjoy silence. Get comfortable with silence. When you do that, notice how your mind also starts to respond with less chatter, with less noise.