The Need for a Little Quiet in Your Day

by Tonya Ratliff, LPC, NCC, ACS

Tonya Ratliff is the Owner and Director of Counseling Services for Trinity Family Counseling Center. In addition to her individual, couple, and family clients, Tonya is also the lead facilitator of the Walk With Me® Grief Support Group, an aftercare program sponsored by Wm. Sullivan and Son Funeral Home in Utica, MI.

Cell phone rings, text and email alerts, television and radio programming, traffic, gaming, appliance buzzers and timers, car horns and alarms, and a thousand other noises are endured by each of us on a daily basis. We are continually bombarded with sound; a constant intrusion into our minds, psyches, and souls.

I wasn’t even aware of the barrage of clatter in my own life until a move to the country three years ago. On our cozy lot in the woods, my home is insulated from the noises of the outside world. How tempting it is, at times, to turn on the television or music, or fire up the internet for a dose of technology and artificial connectedness with the rest of the world. Initially difficult to resist, I hadn’t realized how loud my world had become. But now, I’ve grown to appreciate the need for—and the opportunity for--quiet.

When was the last time you sat in complete quiet? To think? To read? To meditate? To pray? Quiet time—especially when spent alone—provides an opportunity to clear your mind of worry, misplaced priorities, and self-doubt. An opportunity to think of nothing in particular… or everything you dream of… A time to renew our sense of who we truly are, with no distractions… An opportunity to focus on what is most important… Or to re-prioritize—especially if we’ve had it all wrong lately.

What might you discover if you made room for a little quiet in your day?