Monthly Intention- Embrace Silence

Welcome to the 16th installment of our monthly intention setting ritual.

For more details on what this is all about see this post right over here.
If you missed last months post, or any other I encourage you to check them out over here. 

This months intention is going to be difficult for some. I know it will be tremendously difficult for me. I don't like to be left with my own thoughts and so I often avoid silence as much as possible. It's not something I'm proud to admit but it's true. I often have a tv show or a movie or music playing in the background all the time, even if I'm doing other things at the same time. Too much silence tends to make me feel anxious. How lame is that? This month I'm going to try to face this head on and actually try to EMBRACE the silence.

It is one thing to decide to keep music on because you like to multi-task. It's another thing completely to keep it on because without it, you find yourself feeling uneasy. I don't want to avoid it anymore! The fact of the matter is I like the silence once I get over the initial discomfort so let's see if we can eliminate it all together!

I imagine that I'm not the only person who feels uneasy when it comes to sitting in silence. For some it may be best to start with smaller steps so I'll try to address different ways to go about it.

Ways to make it happen:



*Leave your radio off on your way home from work. (This is a time when the only thing you can use to distract yourself from silence, aside from driving itself, is music. Opt to leave it off for at least part of the trip. Start with small increments and work your way up.)
*Linger. (Sometimes it's easy to rush around and it seems like we are always on our way to another task. Try slowing down and lingering a little when you are in a silent situation. Take an extra minute in the bathroom or while doing dishes and sit with the silence.)
*Unplug. (Turn off your phone and unplug your computer and television. With the flick of a switch it's easy to become distracted so make it a little more difficult for yourself.)
*Go for a walk. (Spend some time in nature, get some fresh air. Be your own companion for a while, even if its just a short time.)
*Like always if you begin to feel uncomfortable or have difficulty staying motivated remind yourself of your intention. Say it out loud. Here's an example. "This month I am going to embrace the silence in my life."

In these scenarios how did you feel? What kinds of things did you think about?

Leave a comment sharing some ways you plan to embrace the silence in your life.