I am quiet

         Our world today is full of stimuli bombarding our beings.  It is noisy, frenetic, and turbid.  It can be hard to escape, especially now that we carry it around with us in our pockets.  That's why it is nice, every now and again, to escape to a place and to a pace that is calm and quiet.

           It can be uncomfortable to sit in silence sometimes and just let our thoughts percolate and roam.  However, I find there is also clarity to be had in these moments.  Meditation is one way to quiet ourselves and the world around us; but there are other ways to achieve this kind of quiet.  Being in nature is one of my favourite ways to be in silence.  Now, I don't mean silence in way that is void of sound, silence in my mind and body is what I'm after.  Nature provides a tranquil and serene space to be quiet in.  There is something very grounding in nature that makes one feel more connected to themselves and their surroundings in a deep and meaningful way.  If I choose meditation, I'll typically use a guided meditation or just focus on my breath.  As someone who has combated anxiety, I found this helpful to recenter and to quiet my busy mind.

        I am more than just quiet in mind and body, when I am talking to someone, or part of a group chat, I tend to remain quiet and absorb what is being said.  Sure, I like to throw in a sarcastic comment every once in a while, that's just part of who I am, but I really do like to just sit and think about what's been said before speaking for myself.  I actively listen, and don't just listen to have a response, because sometimes a response is not required.  Taking time to be quiet and listen not only gives me the opportunity to really hear what is being said, it gives me time to think deeply about the subject and give a thoughtful response.

        Being silent and still within our bodies can give us some great insights.  Often when I'm training, and especially when I'm trying to work out why a technique doesn't feel right, I'll quiet my mind and sit or stand in stillness and feel/listen to what my body is telling me.  It is here I can find an understanding.  It lets me know the things that I'm doing right, and it illuminates the areas that aren't working.  An example of this is the technique in Lao Gar 2 that we do a couple of times, which is the pull back into a cat stance, after the double palm block.  It ended up being I was using my upper body too much in the technique, and not enough of my lower body.  It wasn't that my upper half was disconnected from the lower half, I was just trying to "muscle" the technique too much.  The way I view this technique is a throw to the ground, so the upper body grips, but the lower body should be the driving force of the technique.  Without the ability to quiet myself and listen to what I'm doing within my body, it would have taken me longer to come to this conclusion.  My instructors of course were a huge help too, because they pointed me in the right direction and I could then narrow my focus.

        So in a world that is so busy, it is important to take time to be quiet and listen to what is going on within ourselves.  We are full of insightful wisdom.