Christmas hush

‘T is the season to be jolly and with all the hustle and bustle going around, not to mention the traffic, I think we can all say that we’ve entered into Christmas madness. The Philippines is known around the world for celebrating one of the longest Christmases and the festive mood is just infectious.

Let’s face it. We Filipinos love to fiesta and the holiday season is surely the biggest of all events. It doesn’t matter where the Filipino is, for as long as two or three gather, we all know it’s going to be a party big or small. 

Rushing is something we Filipinos love to do especially in December and this includes grocery shopping for Noche Buena.

Preparation after preparation, party after party, the Filipino is definitely all in. Having said this, and in my personal opinion, I’ve come to wonder if any of us put the same effort to “celebrate” in silence. I’ve noticed that, as I get older, and considering my very hectic schedule, silence is truly golden.

Lately I have been experimenting on the value of silence and so far I have learned that my quiet moments have resulted into my best work. Some of us like to speak of mercury in retrograde and often enough people fail to see that such a moment is also the time to “reboot” which technically boils down to looking into oneself.

We are in the middle of December and now is also a perfectly good time, and despite all the rush, to seek some silence. Learning to be quiet puts things in order.

It also boosts our physical well-being. While noise as we know it can affect our stress levels, silence on the other hand can relieve tension. Most of all, silence helps us in our own personal reflection and also restores our creative juices.

A daily dose of quiet can greatly improve our life and in this season of madness where most of us find ourselves overwhelmed by the holiday cheer, it helps to take a step back every now and then to simply enjoy the little things in life that we often take for granted due to our busy schedules.

In the new year we are going to make our resolutions and I am willing to bet that most of us are going to wish for more calmness in our lives.

Practicing silence for even just a few minutes a day can help us rejuvenate both our inner selves as well as appreciate what the season is truly about. We don’t really need to wait for new year’s resolutions as the simple things in life are meant to be celebrated.  Even if it is in silence.