“Hello, darkness, my old friend.
I’ve come to talk to you again.
Because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping.
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sounds of silence.”
This song has always struck a chord with me- not just because I first heard it watching The Graduate and will forever have the closing scene of Dustin Hoffman desperately banging on the glass in the church ingrained in my mind. It’s more than that. This song makes you think, and it made me realize how vital it is to always find a way to embrace the sound of silence.
When is the last time you drove in your car without the radio on? Or the last time you ate dinner by yourself with zero distractions? Even when I’m sipping my coffee or getting ready in the morning, I find myself listening to music or turning the tv on in an attempt to mask the silence. The more I think about it, the more I realize that silence is a scary thing for me. It is scary because it forces me to think. It forces me to wonder about the world. And most importantly, it forces me out of my comfort zone.
As a distance runner, I am already thought to be a little crazy… and I tend to get many funny questions from my non-running friends. One of the most frequent questions I get from my friends is,
“You don’t listen to music when you run?!”
“Don’t you get bored?!”
“What do you think about for so long?!”
Don’t get me wrong, there are many long runs and countless track workouts where I definitely get through the pain and monotony with my little iPod by my side, but I have come to find that my best runs are the ones where I truly embrace the sound of silence.
There is something to be said about running alone. When we run with no distractions, we often times encounter a sense of peace that seems impossible to find anywhere else. When I run and I hear the familiar sound of my feet hitting the ground and my steady breaths in and out, there is a zen-like experience that takes place. I embrace the silence and find that I can temporarily escape the noise of the real world.
In today’s society, silence is not only hard to find, it is also greatly under-appreciated. I think all human beings have an unconscious desire to constantly seek comfort. While nobody can deny that comfort is a wonderful thing, it is important to be able to learn how to deal with the uncomfortable as well.
By pushing distractions aside, silence is able to create a space for awareness to occur, and this awareness can many times bring about feelings of discomfort. We become aware of our fears, as well as our desires. And while this awareness may at times be extremely uncomfortable, it can also lead to some of the most meaningful and enlightening moments. And it is these moments that we all search for because they are what bring meaning and understanding to our lives. When I run and I encounter these moments, I feel invincible. It brings me the strength and the courage to believe that anything is possible.
Next time you find yourself in the car by yourself, try not to turn the radio on. And before you go for a run, leave the headphones and the iPod at home. You may surprise yourself with the magic you find within the sound of silence.
“True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body- nourishment and refreshment.”