The quaint café was as beautiful as I'd imagined. I had a cappuccino in front of me, and I was ready to sit and enjoy some quiet.
Four days into my Europe trip, I'd planned quiet time at a Belgian café. And I had all the ingredients: cute table, quaint space, music playing softly in the background…
But something wasn't working.
Don't get me wrong, it started out great – I was sitting there, thinking about how grateful I was for the trip, appreciating my surroundings…
But before I knew it, I was thinking about my to-do list. Worrying about my kids. Going over my plans for the day.
I'd carved out this quiet time in Europe for beautiful thinking, and I expected some beautiful thoughts.
But instead, I was having the same thoughts as usual, just in a different place.
I genuinely chuckled at myself in that café, smiling at the romantic visual I'd created leading up to this moment. I'd really thought that a change in latitude and an overpriced coffee would suddenly give me the permission I needed to find quiet?
I left that café with a clear thought: If I spend my life waiting until I'm at beautiful cafés to I enjoy a quiet moment – then my life isn't going to have many quiet moments.
Since then, I've found quiet in my daily spaces: in a car ride, no podcast playing, just me and my hand out the window. In a quick walk between Zoom calls. In a quiet coffee on my porch.
Would I rather be at a European café? I mean, obviously.
(Overpriced or not, the cappuccino was quite good.)
But it has been so relaxing and recharging to remember that I don't have to wait for that — I have the power to find quiet where I am.
I can find it, in my day-to-day, no passport required.
- Dr. Sarah Glova, Co-Editor of 8&21, Fan of the Lesson-Learned
A time for quiet
When my children were little, one of our favorite books to read was Quiet LOUD by Leslie Patricelli where a silly little baby explores things that are quiet (like thinking, libraries, and turtles) and things that are loud (like singing, playgrounds, and monkeys).
We loved whispering the quiet pages and yelling the loud pages.
And most of all, I appreciated that quiet did not equal boring or bad. And loud was not all chaos.
There is a time and place for quiet, and there is a time and place for loud. Ideally, quiet and loud exist in balance. But because loud is, well LOUD, it often gets the most attention.
But quiet also deserves our attention. It is in times of quiet that we can make connections and discover insights.
Make space for quiet—to reflect, to brainstorm, or just to take a break. Quiet gives us the time to move information from our short-term or working memory into our long-term memory.
We need some quiet in our lives—time to whisper and appreciate how it feels to distance yourself from LOUD.
Dr. Sarah Egan Warren, Co-Editor of 8&21, Appreciator of Both Quiet and Loud
Benefits of even a little quiet
Research has shown that finding moments of quiet in our daily lives can have significant benefits.
For example, a study conducted by the University of California, Irvine found that workers who took short breaks to disconnect from technology and engage in quiet activities, such as going for a walk or practicing meditation, experienced improved mood and cognitive performance compared to those who did not take breaks.
Another study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that spending time in nature and quiet environments can help to reduce stress and improve overall well-being.
More and more studies are suggesting that finding small moments of quiet in our day-to-day lives can have a big impact on our mental health and happiness.
Research pulled from studies published in the Academy of Management Journal and the Journal of Environmental Psychology, which explored the benefits of taking short breaks during the workday, as well as articles in Organizational Dynamics and the Journal of Occupational Health, which specifically focused on the role of breaks in recovery and mental well-being.
Pause is a free reflection journal created by the Editors of 8&21.
