Something to remember: quiet space is not the absence of active engagement. Instead, a quiet space is an environment where you can practice what it means to simple be, even if only momentarily.
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This week, look for room where you can say this, at least once:
“I am making space for quiet.”
What’s helpful about this phrase is that it is a reminder breathing room is a part of life, too. The metaphor of “making space for quiet” means creating a place, either in your mind or in your life, where there is room for calm and stillness, even if it’s just for a moment. This idea challenges the belief that all spaces should be filled with activity or sound.
Space doesn’t always need to be filled. There’s often a tendency to find large blocks of quiet, empty spaces (whether it’s our time or our surroundings) as space that need to be filled with something like work, noise, or distractions. Making space for quiet is a reminder that quite can be just as important as doing things. We may not always be able to create long periods of silence, but even just taking a moment to consider what we might desire for quiet space to look and feel like is a thoughtful way to begin create space, right here. Allow yourself room to think of quiet not as an absence of active engagement, but a nurturing space to simply be, from which you can return to the things you need to do with clarity. This is something you can practice. This is something you can adapt and modify.
Whatever this looks like for you, allow yourself to rethink quiet moments however possible. Even at the beginning of the week, even if it’s something you have to plan for later, it’s worth exploring. Even if it’s brief, small pauses are worth pursuing. Allow yourself to explore what making space for quiet could look like. – Morgan Harper Nichols
