"The Joy of Quiet," these words, glimpsed on the front page of the Sunday Review section of The New York Times, January 1, 2012, grabbed my attention. I glanced at the story only briefly enough to see it said, "The average office worker today enjoys no more than three minutes at a time at his or her desk without interruption." Three minutes of quiet? This was shocking to me, but it set me to thinking about how much quiet I desire/require and to ask myself what I was doing about it.
I enjoyed a jam-packed holiday time; however, heading into January I want to change my ways. I've asked myself: What is enough (quiet time)? Is 'enough' different from 'plenty'?
After reflecting on these questions, I have designated six days in January as quiet days, these in addition to the quiet time I enjoy daily. This has set me to wondering: What might my needs be for a year? A very few of my friends have gone on silent retreats, getaways that last for a week. For me, there is a direct correlation between my quiet time and having something useful to bring to others. What might an extended quiet retreat yield? I've resolved to investigate that possibility.
Given the quiet I'm carving out for myself, I am freeing up the resource of time, time for organizing, de-cluttering and simplifying my environment. I feel this is a significant, yes, even essential, next step in my creativity tune-up.
Eventually, I expect to have days to do nothing. Will that be a test, a treat, a surprise, what? I look forward to finding out!
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