The Pursuit of a Quiet Life

As we start heading into the holiday season things around us can often start to pick up at a frantic pace.  We have the menus to plan, the gifts to purchase, the parties to attend, the family to visit and that’s not even taking into account any work obligations that may be present as well.  It’s times like these when I am grateful for my pursuit of a quiet life. I enjoy things that are calm, slow, create simplicity and overall creates a quiet life. The world as a whole is more connected than ever and seems to be overall louder than ever in many ways. We’ve all heard the phrase “the squeaky wheel gets the oil” and it seems there’s just too many people and things trying to out squeak each other nowadays. So how does one pursue a quiet life of their own? That is something that I have been pursuing for a long time and have found ways to quiet the “noise” of a lot of modern day life. While this is a pursuit in which one must be diligent, the results of not having the mental and physical clutter weighing on them pays in dividends. While not every single day is going to be a calm and quiet one, the idea is to set up a life that is quiet on an everyday basis.  There will always come times that may be challenging or fast paced and therefore not exactly calm, but when these times come around, we can be better prepared mentally to handle them with better execution.

If you too are in the pursuit of your own quiet life, here are some tips to try to quiet the noise around you in both a mental and physical aspect.

---

–Create Quiet Routines

I once read something that said you do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the levels of your systems, and this is such a true statement.  In order to start creating a quieter life one must first start creating quiet routines. Some ideas for more quiet routines are things like waking up a little earlier so as to be able to lay in bed a little longer to gently rise and stretch instead of jumping right up before you have fully wakened, having a capsule menu so you know what you are going to cook every night of the week instead of trying to frantically figure it out every night at dinnertime, starting the workday slowly with a cup of coffee (or tea) and some relaxing jazz music, turning off all notifications on the phone except call and text, cleaning out the email box every day and unsubscribing/spamming when needed, having a pair of noise cancelling earbuds to wear (even out in public) when the noise is getting too loud or overstimulating, and listening to a podcast/audiobook/or calm music while commuting to work. I could probably do a whole post on quiet life routines alone, but creating routines for a quiet life is a great first step to take.

-Visit Quiet Places

There are some places that are naturally quieter than others and I always try to place myself there whenever possible. Places such as bookstores, antique shops, finer dining restaurants, luxury hotels, higher end stores like Nordstrom or Banana Republic, spas, museums, botanical gardens, and certain kinds of shops like kitchen stores such as Williams-Sonoma are places that are typically quieter than others. When you think of a place like a casual dining restaurant for instance, most of the time the music is playing loudly and then people are trying to talk over the music and the noise of other people talking and so they are yelling across the table just to have a conversation, it makes the experience not nearly as nice.  If it was a finer dining restaurant in most cases the music is very low, and people are talking in a more hushed tone. The experience is pleasant and even feels luxurious. When going out for an experience try to opt for a place that is a quieter place for a better-quality experience.

-Create a Quiet Sanctuary at Home

Home is where we start and end our days, so creating the foundation of a quiet life starts here.  Create a space that is calming for you (this will look different for everyone). Bring in elements that quiets the mind such as scented candles, low lighting lamps, soft throw blankets, hot drinks such as coffee and/or tea, beautiful books and objects that resonate with you, warm neutral colors such as beige and browns, a clutter-free space, oversized corner chairs, a fireplace (even a small faux one from Amazon can set the mood for coziness), instrumental music playing in the background, and lovely details that spark joy for you. We cannot control what goes on in the outside world, but we can control our homes and set it up for a foundation of quiet living.

-Stop Scrolling Reels

It can be addicting to open up the Instagram reels app (or tiktok) and just scroll for hours. But just like the outside world, we cannot control what comes up on the screen next.  Even though my “algorithm” is probably set for all things cozy and personal interests such as travel and style, inevitably there will come along something that energetically makes me feel not good.  Whether it’s a fight, politics, conspiracy theories, something gross, violent or angering, the app is still going to push these things to everyone’s screen because they know that if the audience feels anger or fear that they will stay on the app much longer. If you really like reels try setting the option to where it will only play the reels of the accounts you follow to ensure that nothing unpleasant pops in or visit other sites like Pinterest for better quality material.

-Pursue Quiet Hobbies

Hobbies are so important because they give us a simple pleasure that we can visit throughout the week to provide us joy in partaking in an activity that we delight in.  There are so many hobbies to choose from out there and to enjoy those that are quiet hobbies also provides an element of peace and calm that many are searching for in today’s fast paced environment. Some ideas for quiet hobbies are reading, knitting/crocheting, coloring, cozy games, crosswords puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, word search/sudoku puzzles, gardening, painting/drawing, bird watching, sculpting, baking, scrapbooking, or any other DIY project. Indulge in your favorite quiet hobby often or try a new one.  Having some alone time to enjoy an activity quietly is simply good for the soul.

-Stop Reading the News

Collectively as humans, we were never meant to know everything that was going on worldwide at any given time. There have been tragedies of great sadness as long as there have been humans walking the earth and while we cannot control what is happening around the world, we can control what is happening in our immediate world. Some may say that they like to keep informed, but what benefit is this for an “everyday” person? I’m not saying to necessarily bury your head in the sand. One way that you can keep informed on a broad stroke level is to go to a site that collects news stories from all over.  Visit sites such as yahoo.com or msn.com which will have the headlines of anything important going on without having to read through every tragic detail of the matter. You’ll be informed of world events without having to wade through the “if it bleeds it leads” information as well as keeping an objective point of view instead of reading an endless amount of opinion pieces. Another great option is to read publications like The New Yorker or a newspaper. Keep your quiet life sacred and stop reading and watching the news where their main focus, like social media, is fear and anger to keep you engaged.

-Create A Quiet Mindset

Everything we create starts with a thought, and that is why styling our mindset is so important and sets the foundation of our everyday life. Creating a quiet mindset can help to counteract when life inevitably gets noisy. There is no way to avoid things that may be unpleasant all the time, but with a mindset that is created to be more quiet and calm, it can keep us grounded to navigate through these times more gracefully. Creating a quiet mindset can be achieved through regularly doing things like meditation, journaling, alone time, quiet hobbies, being out in nature, having a tech-free weekend, having a news-free weekend, going on a solo date to a quiet place, or simply cozying in at home for the weekend. These activities will reinforce a self image of a woman who persues a quiet life of quality and grace and who does not partake in the constant noise of the rest of the world.