These days, the people, places, and things that I am most attracted to are quiet.
My favourite writing spot, for instance, is in an old, mostly abandoned floor of our university’s main library. This floor alone spans a few thousand square feet, and yet, whenever I go, there are never more than a handful of people. (Often times, in the early mornings, I’m the only one there.) It’s so quiet that you can distinctly hear the movements of every individual person as they walk through the door, make their way across the room, and set their things down on the table in front of them.
It is so unbelievably calming, being this enveloped in silence, that I spend several hours in that space every single day. Had I known how enormously beneficial just sitting in such a quiet space would be, both for my work and my overall well-being, I would have prioritized it so much sooner. But this was something that I didn’t even know to look for.
Unfortunately, perhaps because it isn’t particularly glamorous or exciting, quietness doesn’t often get a lot of attention. For one reason or another, in our increasingly connected world, it seems like quiet time simply isn’t regarded with a great deal of value. And that is something that I can’t make sense of. Because thinking requires quietness, and, by extension, creativity requires quietness.
The more time I spend amidst quiet spaces, the more I realize just how true that is. I cannot be the best version of myself when I am constantly surrounded by loudness — and so, instead, I find myself leaning further and further into the warmth of that quiet embrace with each passing day.
Jana Marie is a Croatian-born writer living amidst the restorative embrace of the Canadian Prairies.
Through her writing, she examines the interplay between self and society as she works to both illuminate and explore the power of contemplative thinking. Her recently completed two-year project, 100 Mindful Days, which combines teachings from the worlds of personal development, self-care, and wellness, will soon be her first book.
If you’d like to hear from her more often, you can subscribe to her newsletter here.
