Silence is Golden

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​Lisa here. I hope you enjoyed our series on communication. Hopefully you and your family have been experiencing healthier communication. Now, we’re switching gears. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be talking about mindfulness- what is it and easy ways to incorporate it into your life. But first, a moment of silence. 
 
Literally.

​How do you feel about silence? Does it make you nervous? 
 
You’re not alone! Silence can feel awkward, intimidating or downright scary. You may worry that if you’re silent, uncomfortable or unpleasant thoughts and feelings may come up. So, you may try to avoid it. Do you find yourself constantly trying to find things to keep yourself busy, or filling silence with the sounds of  TV, music, audiobooks, podcasts, etc.? Do you feel pressured to talk to fill silences during conversations?
 
Here's some good news, silence doesn’t have to be scary. Silence can also be peaceful. There’s power in remaining silent- it can be freeing. 

​Silence allows you the mental space to get in touch with your real thoughts and feelings. When you sit in silence, you have room to deal with things that you have been trying to avoid, you can problem-solve without all the background noise of daily life, or you can just give your brain a break. 
 
Silence also allows you to fully take in and enjoy your surroundings. It’s one thing to be outside running errands, picking up your kids, or doing yard work. Your experience will be very different if you allow yourself to just sit outside and silently observe the world around you. Try it and notice the difference. 
 
Silence can be golden if you let it. So even if you don’t love it, spend some time being silent. The great thing about silence is that it’s always available to you. You can be silent when you’re on your own, when you’re with others, when you’re about to say something you probably shouldn’t, or when you’re feeling the need to say something just so it won’t be “awkward.”
 
If you’re intentional about silence, you may start to feel different about it. You may even learn to love it. 

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