Hey, I’m talking to you! (and me)

There is always so much to do. Take out the trash.  Make the bed. Do the work. Pay the bills.

The cacophony builds.  It can be deafening.  It can be exhausting.  And it feels unending.

But just like some of your favorite pieces have rests – you too need time to be quiet.

Step away from the harp.  (bet you didn’t see that coming!)

Mozart is quoted as saying,

“The music is not in the notes,

but in the silence between.”

Just like music is in the spaces between the notes, you need quiet.  Silence speaks volumes.  Silence is home to a lot of stuff – stuff that you need to have happen.

Consider it self-care.  Consider it creative space.  Consider it a laboratory experiment.  But definitely consider it.

Why do you need quiet?  Well, you might have noticed that when your hair is on fire with all the things you have to do/to think about/to plan for/to regulate/to manage, there’s precious little time to be creative or artistic.  Without some quiet time, you are likely to be less creative – in any way – actually in every way.  This could mean stalled learning, stale arrangements, zero compositions, and forget any other creative outlets.  You might find that then your music suffers.

Quiet time allows you space to think (or not think), to observe, to question.  And all that makes a fertile playground for new ideas.

How would you get some quiet?  You will have to carve it out – it is something you will do for yourself.

What would you do in all this quiet?  Well –  

You could generate a walking habit.  This would need to be a solitary walk – social walks are fun and nice and serve a purpose, but they won’t serve for this purpose.  You need to bimble*.  Many great minds cultivated a walking habit.

You could meditate/pray/reflect.  These are all the same thing, dressed up pretty for different predilections, but this time does give you the quiet you need to be still which will generate some head space.

You can journal (yes, you could journal in your practice journal, but only if that makes sense to you).  Set aside time to journal.  That can be a writing journal, an art journal, a bullet journal – doesn’t matter as long as it is a tool that allows you to have some quiet time.

You could watch the clouds go by.  You could watch the ducks swim.  You could watch the grass grow.  You could let your childhood memories of things to do on long days make additional suggestions.

You need this time to be unpressured.  Your are, after all, specifically not being productive.  In fact, you’re almost being anti-productive.  You want stuff to just wash over you …. you’re being quiet!

Put your phone away!  You don’t even need your harp.  Just be. 

Develop a habit of making this time.  It doesn’t have to be bags of time – even a 15-minute window will work.

Do you already have quiet time? If so, what do you do to make quiet?  If you don’t, do any of these work for you?  What are you going to try to find some quiet?  Let me know in the comments!

*Bimble is an English English word that means to meander, often with no destination.  Perfect for quiet time.