The joy in silence

One of the things that my daily practice have taught me, is to value silence. I noticed that I have been valuing silence lately, more than ever, and I am able to do it in so many ways, other than doing a long asana practice on the mat.

I don't watch the TV anymore, unless Lou wants to do so. Which is still OK in a way, because somehow I still get to watch the news time to time. I remember turning on the TV instantly when I wake up (even when Lou's still sleeping), then turning it on again when I get home (even when Lou's not yet home). I watch the same news over and over - PDAF scandal, zamboanga crisis and all that, not knowing that it was shattering my inner peace - I rebut in my mind, and silently curse people involved. It was adding emotions in my day to day living that were... yes, microscopic yet unnecessary.

I also learned to stop the self-nagging when I leave a bug at work then do nothing at home. When I step out of the office this time, work is done for the day, and everything else is solely mine. So I end each asana practice in a peaceful 5-10 minutes meditation while on savasana (corpse pose), just simply enjoying the silence, and the non-doing that goes with it ...without feeling guilty nor anything.

And the rewards are good! Aside from having clearer thoughts, I can now do more chores at home, and I am now more sensitive of noise that used to be "normal", such as high-volumed music. See, silence is good for our homes, eardrums and spirits. Don't you agree? :)