No matter how much you love something, too much of it is likely not any good.
“To make the right choices in life, you have to get in touch with your soul. To do this, you need to experience solitude, which most people are afraid of, because in the silence you hear the truth and know the solutions.” – Deepak K. Chopra
After finding this quote a couple of days ago I realized why I had felt so unfocused the two previous weeks. From the time I woke up until I went to bed I had music, voices or sounds around me 24/7. No silence whatsoever. I woke up to my clock radio, had music on in the background whenever I ate breakfast, showered, did yoga, wrote, blogged, worked, surfed the Internet, and cooked, as well as listened to my mp3 player or iPod every time I went out on my own. I even fell asleep to music. Around friends there are no quiet moments, and both cafés and restaurants/bars have the radio or some music on throughout the day/night. The same goes for most stores. Even the bathing house. I’m not complaining. Music is great. I simply reached a point where I got too much of it. For some reason this lack of silence caused me to start doubting and questioning myself and others, and let me tell you, that was not a nice feeling. I had too much going on in my head instead of living in the moment.
Around midnight after one of those days I went outside and just stood there watching the stars for 10-15 minutes. I became reminded of how good it can feel with quietness. If only for a short while.
Once I went back to living in the moment again, everything changed.
When browsing photos on Flickr one day I came across this photostream full of beautiful pictures with different quotes as titles — including “The past is history, the future is imaginary, and today is all I have. The now, to hope, to live, to love.”
The benefits of going with the flow and living in the moment apply to all things in life, especially when traveling. Have you ever not been able to enjoy the moment ’cause you’ve worried about missing your flight, that you forgot something important at home (your passport, or tickets), whether they’ll find your lost luggage, or how to find your way in an unfamiliar city? If so, I’m pretty sure you’re not alone. Learning to live in the now instead of being stuck in your head is well worth it.
I still listen to music a lot. Hard not to. But I took up meditation again, because that’s one of the easiest ways (among yoga and jogging/running) to get in tune and stay balanced.
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Cheryl Marie Cordeiro
11 months ago
The quote by D. Chopra’s very wise – except I do know of some people who, the more they spend time alone, the quirkier their ideas, all unfounded. *LOL*
I love this post. It lifts the spirit reading it!
Cheryl
Cheryl Marie Cordeiro’s last blog post..The Eiffel Tower in Paris by night in early spring
Erica Johansson
11 months ago
@Cheryl, Yeah… I know what you mean. I know of some of them too
Thanks for your comment!
Tudor Bran
11 months ago
I could say that I’m a music addict too, though I have my moments when I really need two or three hours of total silence.
Interesting post.
Erica Johansson
11 months ago
@Tudor Bran, It’s usually the same for me. Often I want to listen to music, or some special song(s), but sometimes I just need silence.
Taylor Davidson
11 months ago
I think many people are afraid to embrace the silence and live with just the thoughts in their own mind
Erica Johansson
11 months ago
@Taylor, True
But accepting and embracing the silence is so much better, and I think that’s what we all need to do to stay balanced and focused.