I have been traveling a lot lately – and some how my office still manages to find me, darn!   Friends and family think that life on the road is a 24/7 cabaret. Unfortunately, they miss the part where your eyes glaze over when you get to the airport and you have taken your shoes off before you even get near security.  Traveling gets old very quickly…the delays, having to pay for bad food and being crammed into a small seat never seem to happen on the Travel Channel.  With the busiest travel period of the year upon us, I decided I needed a little help keeping my sanity…

So I did a little research and found one of the best ways to get some inner peace and discover a better balance is to have a period of silence in your life. Have you ever noticed how much of your day is filled with noise?  Technology has made it possible to be on call at all hours and brings with it all the ringtones and email notification beeps.  And traffic adds its own hum to the fray.   Add onto that the 16,000 words we speak on average every day and it’s a wonder we can think at all.

Although research is not yet conclusive, all this noise cannot be good for your health or your peace of mind. If you are like me, you’re probably having trouble thinking of a quiet place. Most religions recommend solitude – Muhammad hid in a cave, Jesus went to the desert and Buddha sat under a tree to achieve enlightenment.  But you don’t have to go out of town or even leave your house to structure periods of silence into your day.  I’ve gathered a few easy suggestions that might help you tune it all out…

The world is at its quietest just before the sun comes up – even in big cities.  Set your alarm just a little earlier and use the solitude to soak in the view if you have one, write in a journal or just watch the sunrise….resist the urge to turn on the TV or read the paper.  Sit quietly with your cup of coffee, enjoying the aroma and the warmth of the cup.  Yes, it is OK to just sit and stare.

On your lunch hour, get up from the computer, turn of your cell phone (yes – there is an off button), leave your iPod behind and find a quiet place indoors or out to enjoy your food.  Eat as slowly as you can.  Notice the taste and texture of what you are eating. Swallow each bite before you take the next.  Besides being able to collect your thoughts, research has shown that eating in silence decreases the amount you consume while increasing satisfaction so there is a boon to waistlines – well actually a decrease, but semantics.

Find a few moments between meetings or calls to put on some headphones, but don’t turn on the music. (Better yet, grab a pair of foam earplugs.)   Sit, lie or stand still for several minutes as you listen instead to the “sound” of your heart beating in your ears.  It’s the same sound you hear when you hold a seashell to your ear so let it take you to your favorite beach.  Take a few deep breaths in through your nose and exhale through your mouth.   Ahh…

Drive home a different way, preferably on the road less taken. (See Robert Frost…) Again, turn off your cell phone, don’t turn on the radio.  If the weather is nice, consider putting down the windows and just enjoy the sound of the wind rushing by as you drive.  Admire a well-tended yard, enjoy the sun as it filters through the trees – enjoy just being in the moment.

I hope that the above suggestions help you to find the time for a few contemplative moments in your day by counteracting the noise all around you.  Silence can give you the chance to get in touch with yourself and what you want instead of what the people around you expect.   As always, I welcome your tips, suggestions and feedback – so write to me at anne@wejetset.com.  Travel safely and be quiet…

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