If, like most of us, you feel that peace and well-being are far off, I have a question for you: How much silence and stillness do you allow into your life?
At first glance, peace and well-being may seem to have little connection with silence and stillness. But they are so much a part of one another that they can’t really be separated. It might be more accurate to say that peace and well-being and silence and stillness are simply different names for the same thing.
We live in a world where we’re continually overstimulated by our devices, our schedules, and the frantic pace we’ve decided is necessary for success. We’re so accustomed to stimulation that when life slows down a bit, we can take it as a sign that something is wrong. Our usual response is to increase the stimulation.
But what we need in those moments—what will help us most—isn’t more stimulation. It’s much, much less.
The Craving for Silence and Stillness
In other words, our innate craving for silence and stillness is what’s making us uncomfortable. And what we’re really craving is peace and well-being.
But the most wonderful aspect of this craving comes as a complete surprise.
In truth, it’s not you craving peace and well-being. It’s the peace and well-being you were born with beckoning you back to it.
Moving in the direction of less stimulation may seem counterintuitive, but that’s largely because we’ve become so accustomed to overstimulation that we’ve come to believe it’s natural, warranted, and necessary.
It’s easy to confuse what’s normal with what’s natural.
Overstimulation may be normal, but it isn’t natural. You weren’t born in an overstimulated state; you learned it. It isn’t “just the way you are.” It’s a habit you developed—and a habit that doesn’t serve you well over the long term.
Recognizing overstimulation for what it is—a habit rather than an essential part of who you are—can be the first step toward walking away from it.
What Movies Can Teach Us About Silence
Movies can be an effective mirror for showing us how silence and stillness call to us. One of the elements that defines a great movie is its use of silence and stillness. In those silent, still moments, we can lose all consciousness of what we think of as ourselves. Instead, we become the life being portrayed on the screen.
This allows us to experience ourselves as an integral part of something much larger. We personalize the movie in a way that movies without silence and stillness simply don’t allow.
Many modern blockbuster filmmakers seem to have little time for silence and stillness. Their movies exemplify overstimulation. From the first frame to the last, they aim to get you amped up—and keep you there for the next two hours.
After watching a movie whose pacing allows room for silence and stillness, it’s possible to come away feeling refreshed and reinvigorated. After watching a movie that bombards you with stimulation, you may feel as though you’ve just been hit by a truck.
Recently, I watched one of my favorite movies, one that appears on the top-five lists of many great directors: Seven Samurai, directed by Akira Kurosawa. It was made seventy-two years ago.
Seven Samurai is more dynamic than most modern action movies, but contained within that dynamism are many perfect moments of silence and stillness. When the movie ended, I noticed the peace and well-being I felt.
But that lovely feeling didn’t come from the movie.
The Peace That Was Already There
The movie had simply reminded me of the peace and well-being that you and I were both born with.
We can never lose those essential qualities. We can only temporarily lose sight of them. And remembering that they are always with us is all it takes to bring us back to them.
Silence and stillness are not threats to your well-being. They are its guarantors, the custodians of your peace.
Make friends with them, and peace and well-being will always be within your reach.
Related Reading
If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy The Life I Would Choose. It explores what happens when we stop resisting the experience in front of us and discover the peace that may already be there.
