quietude in the noise of life

QUIETUDE IN THE NOISE OF LIFE
In our lives we are constantly bombarded with the “NOISE OF LIFE”. Many feel they can’t even sleepwithout background noise, whether it be t.v., music, or other sounds. Recently I had occasion to share a room with a fellow who had to leave our air conditioning unit on “high speed fan only” mode in order to sleep. It did not affect my sleeping, so I agreed. Later as I observed him during the day, I noticed that during his “quiet time”, while writing a letter, or doing assignments, he would rush through them at breakneck speed so that he could back to the “NOISE OF LIFE”. Turns out that he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I was glad that I had not judge him, for there but for the grace of GOD, goes any of us. Instead, I looked closely at myself, and thought about the many opportunities I have, throughout the day to grab some “quiet time”.
Many of us feel that in order to feel serene, or have inner peace, we must practice meditational techniques in a very serene environment. I think we overlook the opportunities we have throughout the day to achieve what has been described as “QUIETUDE”. The necessary ingredient for me to achieve “QUIETUDE”, is simply to call on my Higher Power to quiet my mind. Given enough belief, and more importantly, trust in my Higher Power, I get amazing results. I receive the blessing of time to “BE”. Time, not to think, process my thoughts, or to act, or react. So what if I hear the background noise of life, traffic, people talking, or other noise, I am blissfully dis-engaged. I can see the beauty in a baby’s smile, a happy couple, or a cute puppy. I can simply enjoy the moment. In so doing I have been able to achieve a level of serenity, that helps me deal with my “acute anxiety disorder”.