The Gift Of Silence

Silence is more than golden.  It is heart healthy! Recently my daughter had minor foot surgery.  Even though it was a minor procedure, she was rather anxious.  Which, of course, is understandable. Something interesting happened in the waiting room. We arrived early to fill out the paperwork, and ended up with an extra 15 minutes to fill.  My daughter brought a book to read, and we were also chatting.  In the waiting room, however, was a television, tuned to a 24-hour news channel.  Several years ago our whole family stopped watching television news.  The sensationalized version of daily events creates too much stress.  My husband and I read a daily newspaper and have a few, well selected, online news sources we check a few times per day.  Which explains, perhaps, why the barrage of “oh my gosh look what terrible thing is happening right now” from the waiting room television was so disturbing. As we waited, my daughter’s eyes darted back and forth between her book and the television, her posture became more and more tense.  After about 5 minutes, I asked the receptionist if we could change the channel or turn the television off. (We were the only people in the waiting room.)  The receptionist looked at me as if I was a bit nuts, but agreed that I could turn it off. Silence. My daughter sighed, and relaxed.  Me too.  Don’t get me wrong, she was still worried about the surgery, but the silence was comforting. How often do you enjoy silence? So often there ...
Source: Embrace Your Heart Wellness Initiative - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Award Winning Blog Heart Health Stress Less health benefits of silence stress management Well At Work Source Type: blogs