Quietude

One of my favourite times of the day is the early morning in which I surrender into quietude, or what the Cambridge dictionary calls a state of calm and peacefulness. This is especially true during December as we approach the solstice. Usually at this time of year, I feel a pull between the noise of the season and nature’s call to slow down. Between clearing my desk, Christmas preparations and socialising, my central nervous system can feel like a spinning top. This is when the quiet of a house before dawn can feel like a secret oasis.

I know that not everyone is a morning person; and perhaps this is why I like my mornings so much. There is a quality of solitude that feels like a stolen treat. The world will wake up in time enough and in waking up it will become a throng of daily duties as it always does. But for now, I can drink my coffee, read my book, sit in practice, or even walk these woods without anyone asking me to do anything.

Being free from all tasks is what makes early mornings so interesting to me, for if you were to look up the benefits of being an early riser, the list usually mentions productivity and exercise . Whereas for me, the benefits centre around a chance to simply be. And in a season which asks us to be fully engaged and switched on, dropping down into simply being can feel like a radical act. It may sound like a contradiction but I find rising early to be an opportunity to rest.

This week, the mornings are at their darkest, and with the exception of some of the winter storms that have been hitting Ireland, the stillness is deep. With the dawn arriving in and around 7.52am, it is the perfect time to get a sense of what it is like to rise early and to truly be present for the waking hours without too much effort. You may even get a chance to watch the sunrise.

So with this in mind, I had a thought. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all took the time to set aside an hour for quietude this week? Or if you truly can’t manage an early morning, perhaps you might find quietude in some other way. It could be, as the Cambridge dictionary mentions, finding a quiet country lane or sitting for an hour or two in your local library, or maybe even turning off all technology and watching the sunset rather than the sunrise.

Early mornings provide the quietude that resources me and fills me up. They fill me up with inspiration and the warm buttered light of possibility. I would love to know that wherever you find yourselves, just like me, you might be starting your day in the same way. If you do manage some early rising this week, let me know in the comment section below!

Otherwise, I will be leading a meditation on quietude at this week’s online community meditation with the Sanctuary (Tuesday at 10am). Why not join us?

-Jane

Click here to join me at the Sanctuary’s online community meditation this Tuesday at 10am.

To listen to and practice a Winter’s Quietude (imagery) meditation, click below: