Julian Summerhayes

Life is distraction.

There's a definite sense of lack if we're not doing.

As to noise — front and centre or otherwise — most people (I've ever known) abhor silence. It unsettles them.

I'm not like that.

I see silence as a friend, or at least a place to come home to my true nature.

I'd be lying if I didn't admit to the fact that a lot of people have misunderstood my self-induced silence. They think, and perhaps, sometimes, I am or have been sulking; but the older I get, the more I realise that silence not only settles me, it very quickly radiates and infuses the environs, making things — the big things especially — much easier to address. 

I've talked a lot on LJ about my desire to go on Pilgrimage. That's still part of the plan — Covid-19 permitting — and I know a large part of that sojourn is to go deeper into silence. It's not about self-improvement but, instead, a letting go and being comfortable in my own skin.

For the record, I think silence is something that needs developing not only at home but in the workplace. I don't mean the obligatory check-in or the irksome training course but something much deeper. I still remember going to see a Danish company who had soundproofing throughout their building and it made such a difference to the atmosphere, that and the fact that no one shouted or allowed their ego to run wild. 

But you know all this, right?