Can you please be quiet?!

Silence is golden.  The movie theaters reminds us of this every time we go to the movies.  So why is it that no-one is listening??  I read somewhere once that what makes music is the silence in between the notes. (I'm not a musician so I have no idea if that's true but it sounds good). 

Yesterday, I spend 9 hours sitting in a hospital waiting room.  My husband was having surgery to repair his rotator cuff.   When we first arrived at the hospital at 6am, the TV in the waiting room was already on.  I sat there for about an hour and a half. I had intended to read but the TV was so loud I couldn't concentrate.  So I watched infomercials, one after another.  So many products promising to improve my life and make me less stressed.  Doesn't anyone realize that just by turning off the TV my life would be improved and I'd feel less stress?

Later I was sent to another waiting room.  I was so relieved to find that the room was empty and quiet.
This was about 7:30am.  I sat in a chair, took some deep breaths, closed my eyes and began repeating my mantra.  That lasted about 5 minutes before I was joined by a hospital worker.  She was an elderly woman who came into the room like a tornado.  She quickly put on the TV, started coffee, noisily arranged her knitting on the desk and set up her phone and clipboard.  It wasn't long before the room was filled with people.  All of them talking.  Talking about nothing.  I suppose it was the hospital worker's job to keep the patients families company while they waited.  Other hospital workers would come into the room to chat with her.  She seemed to know everyone and every one's business (which, by the way, she happily shared with everyone else). 

Doesn't this woman know that silence is golden?  I know other people too who are simply uncomfortable with silence.  They feel like there needs to be talking in order to feel connected with others.  I wonder why people are afraid of silence.  What's scary is thinking about how much chatter is probably going on in their minds while they are talking about nothing.   I know it's exhausting when my mind is filled with so much chatter.  It's this very reason that I  look forward to moments of silence.  It's what brings me to the mat each day.  The promise that the silence will improve my life and make me less stressed. 

Those rare moments in between the thoughts is where meditation happens.    It's those moments in between the thoughts that we find bliss.  It's in those moments between the thoughts that we feel our connection to the Divine.  When we're feeling connected to the Divine, we are connecting with everyone and everything. 

It's okay to be silent sometimes.  You don't need to fill every moment with chatter.  The silence creates space for peace and calmness.  When we're quiet we can listen to God speaking to us.  If we are constantly talking how can we ever hear the whispers of God?  Take a little time today,  sit outside (It's a beautiful day today) just listen.... Is God talking to you? Maybe it's the birds that are bringing you God's message.  Are you listening? 

Silence is Golden.  Not just in the movies but in life.