I crave quiet.
I need quiet.
I seek quiet.

I am a girl full of quirks.
The inability to function well in the midst of noise is one of them.
I visibly shut down in quite a dramatic fashion.
Or I have a panic attack.

My freakishness is never ending.

But I have a very, very, noisy life.
I think the reason why I stay up so late, sacrificing sleep, is just so I can sit quietly.
Because I need the silence to calm me for the next day.

It is another reason why I love camping so much.
I would love to live in a quiet rainy forest with a metal roof.
The noise of rain is an exception.
It is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world.
Right up there with crashing waves.
Perhaps a metal roofed house, nestled in a rainy coastal forest.  Securely footed to an oceanside cliff with a family of sea otters below.
Yes please.

Lately I have been thinking about noise.
How much I fill my days up.
Noise that doesn't matter.
Noise that drains me.
Noise that distracts.

Twitter, Facebook, emails...
Every moment there is new noise coming my way.

Then I start to think of the noise that I am adding daily.

I don't want to be superfluous noise.

So today I am chewing on that.
Listening to this.

Clearing some of it out of my life.

Being quiet.

It is lovely.





27 Comments

  1. i'm so with you on this. peace and quiet is a beautiful thing. it's priceless, really.

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  2. I also share in that same quirkyness for quiet, actually crave it!! So hard to find in this day and age, we have to actively choose it with so many things competing for our attention.
    I believe it is a God created desire, to tune into to Him and His creations. He woos us in the silence...so amazing!
    I love the fishing hole ;) is it an O.C spot? Beautiful photograph.

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  3. This is soo me! ALL of this could have come straight from my own lips! I CRAVE camping and quiet! My husband doesn't understand my NEED to stay up crafting until 3 am while my 4 very sweet, but equally LOUD children sleep, just so I can hear NOTHING.

    The only thing that I did learn differently is that the rain on the tin roof thing is only a romantic idea that I would dream about until we lived in a "tin box" (mobile home) in during medical school and the rain on the tin roof can eventually get just as loud and annoying . . . I'm just sayin' :)

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  4. I'm one that needs quiet too. I need quiet to think and refocus for my day. I love the photo.

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  5. I'm one that needs quiet too. I need quiet to think and refocus for my day. I love the photo.

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  6. I teach 2nd grade and sometimes on my break I just sit in my room with the lights off. It creates such a difference that I can almost notice a ringing in my ears from all the noise before.

    I understand what you are getting at - sometimes there is so much noise I have filled my head with it is difficult to sit and listen to God. And even just slow down long enough to just be with Him.

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  7. Yes, me too!!!! (Well, minus the camping). Love to be quiet. Love to be in the house by myself just to sit still and hear myself think or quietly craft and think. LOVE Switchfoot. Now I'm turning off this song and heading to my sewing machine. The kids are in bed and the husband is on a conference call in the other room....I'm all alone....

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  8. i can relate.
    thanks for the link!!!

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  9. I can totally agree with you on the much needed peace and quiet and staying awake later than I should just to enjoy it! What a beautiful post and it really has me thinking out of the box at the noises I let in while refusing others- very interesting! Thank you for sharing!

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  10. Amen sister.. I know EXACTLY what you mean. I can not function with noise. If it was up to me I would hardly ever turn on anything. I literaly CAN NOT function with any knowledgable brain activity with anything going on. My family thinks I'm nuts.. My favorite part of the day is when I first get up and no one else is up. I sit in my window's sunshine and soak up the stillness.. Blessing for quiet your way.. LOVE your photo. what a wonderful shot.
    Staci

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  11. so glad I'm not the only one! I have two very loud boys; add to that all the technology stuff and by the time my husband gets home from work I just want to escape to my room and bury my head under the covers. I also love to escape to nature; so glad I live in a state that I an do that-the rivers, the ocean, etc.
    and for what it's worth, your "noise", blog-wise, is incredibly encouraging. :) it's the good kind!

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  12. Totally with you. I love the late nights and stay up way later than I should, just to enjoy the quiet. I love the idea of finding ways to quiet the "extra" noise.

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  13. i am right there with you on the quiet thing.

    it's a bit easier for me since i don't have any kiddos around.

    but i have to have a quiet time for at least 30 minutes a day.

    xo monica

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  14. I think I have the opposite issue, silence makes me uncomfortable and spooked... I hate when the boys are at school, I constantly have the TV or music on, I need {background noise}... Even fall asleep to the TV... hahahaha

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  15. I love it too. It's why I love early mornings. The sun comes up quietly...and I love to watch it!

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  16. HOLLA !I am with you . I am a teacher so at the end of the day , I crave quiet!!!

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  17. Um, wow! I feel like you wrote this about me for me. Thank you! When there is too much noise, I get so overwhelmed and out of focus. I wonder if this has a clinical name for it?

    http://biscuitsngravymama.blogspot.com/

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  18. What a precious picture of your girls!! Love it! Nothing is more relaxing or peaceful than the sound of rain.

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  19. Love this and the pics of your girls fishing in the serenity of God's handiwork.

    Makes me want to pack up and get my noise meter in check!

    Katrina

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  20. My five kids are grown now, but I remember how much I enjoyed being home, alone every once and a while! No TV, no music, just me cleaning or reading or making something.
    Now, in my children's art classes, I have them stop talking for a moment, just so we can notice what silence feels like. AAHHH.... :D

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  21. I love the days when my husband is at work, the girls are at daycare, and I get to sit at home in the peace and quiet.
    I love the quiet the most when I get to experience it at home because it's usually pretty noisy there.

    When everyone is home I'll hang out in the bathroom to restock the sanity that has leaked out of my brain. LOL!

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  22. I'm totally allergic to noise as well and I too have 3 kids so the quiet factor around here is pretty dim...but even though I am tired the next day I crave my quiet nights to myself without any questions or screaming. Cuz in the morning I am ready to go! Great post!

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  23. ohhhhhh boy! I so needed to read this right now, this very instant. Thank you!! i love how you so clearly and concisely express your thoughts....

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  24. Several months after reading this, I have come back to it because I feel like my life has been consumed by too much noise. Now if I can just figure out what to do to quiet it down. ;)

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