Finding Quiet

Quiet. Can you here that? The sound of utter silence - that fleeting, oftentimes impossible thing that seems hard to come by in our busy lives. I recently began thinking about the importance of quiet as I was walking down a city street with sirens blaring, people shouting on their cellphones and all the while a jack hammer is being forced into old, albeit resistant, concrete.   These external factors are one thing, but what about the noise that goes inside of our own heads? Maybe it is my constant juggling of work, blogging, friends, family, life, etc, but my mind is constantly humming with thoughts and clutter making me easily distracted and oftentimes hard to focus.  My mind oftentimes goes on loops with thoughts or things that I should be doing, all the while really not paying attention to the task at hand.

Until recently, I was an avid runner. Running was my solitude and my quiet space where my thoughts could wander or completely dissolve as each foot pounded to the ground. However, injury after injury I had to stop running, or at least go from four days a week to one day (at best) yet, I didn't know what type of exercise I could do that was solitary and would give me that same boost as running. My fiancé suggested that I begin swimming - sure, I found it hard to get out of the water on vacations (I literally swim/float until I become one with the fish) but I didn't see it as a form of daily exercise.  Desperate for something, I tried it and I soon discovered that swimming is not like running, it is really hard work. I did whatever I could to get across my gym pool -  it was either the unglamorous doggie paddle or my own made-up-version of the breast stroke. But day after day I found myself getting better and realized just how much I loved swimming and not just the action - something about water has always soothed my soul, from the vast ocean to a small running stream. I have discovered a new form of serene quietness where motion after motion going under water you hear nothing except your own breath.   Being under water is both peaceful and silent, something that we all need in our daily lives so that we can reflect.  How do you find tranquility in such a busy world?

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