Looking for quietude
Dear Witchy Writer,
I live in a really quiet place. I moved here about three years ago, from the heart of Silicon Valley. That place was not quiet. It was loud and buzzy. There was the constant noise of cars and the constant presence of people.
I loved the weather in California, and I loved it when we could get out of town and go to the redwoods or to the ocean or to the chaparral. But I spent most of my days working from home in a little apartment, feeling the zing of all the energy of busy life around me.
I grew up in the Boston area, so I wasn’t unfamiliar with city life, but there was something about Silicon Valley that especially had my nerves in a jangle. It felt like I used half of my life force calming my nervous system so I could be a person who did things during the day.
This was obviously not going to work for our forever home, so when an opportunity came up for us to buy a cute little house in the woods east of Seattle, we went for it. My nervous system calmed down almost immediately when we moved here.
And now I live in a home that is just so quiet, especially in late autumn when the birds aren’t singing as much and people aren’t doing as much outdoor work with big power tools. Right now, the only outdoor noise is a faraway plane making a soft rumble, and as I look out the window, I feel like the tall evergreens are coating me in a blanket of quiet.
Quiet isn’t always peaceful. There are tense silences. The silences of an awkward moment hanging in the air. Other times there are stressful silences. The quiet of a room full of people taking a test. But other times, like today, there are peaceful silences. The quietude of a nature retreat, when you want to bathe in that soft energy and feel soothed by it.
December is almost here, and I know the holiday season can get loud and frenetic. But I want to remind you that late autumn can also be gentle like this. As the busy energy ramps up, let’s try to look for these moments of quietude, and sit with them when we can.
Try looking for these moments in the cracks of the in-between. There is magic in the in-between, when you suddenly find yourself in a soft moment between tasks. See if you can open up the cracks of these times by gifting yourself that moment to breathe in the quiet space.
Lots of love,
Emma
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