It was dark last night when I took one of my dogs up the road to pee.  I live near the end of a cul de sac, so we often walk that way to avoid any traffic and find the perfect spot.  The dog was particularly curious, which is to say he was taking a long time, when I noticed something.

It was really quiet.

Sure, it was evening and we live at the end of the street.  But it was more quiet than normal.  I slowed my breathing down and focused.  I heard noises that I would almost always miss.  I could hear the ruffle of leaves in the nearby woods.  What was back there?  Then a dripping sound caught my attention and I took a second to listen.

It was peaceful.  And to be honest, it was uncomfortable.

In today’s world it is almost never that quiet.  And when it is, we tend to fill that quiet up with news, or social media, or other people’s voices.  We rarely, if ever, give ourselves the chance to enjoy the silence.  To revel in it.  When was the last time you made it a point to listen to your own thoughts?  Most of the time, we don’t.  It might be peaceful, but it is uncomfortable to ask these questions.

What is truly going on around us?

What do we feel about it?

What are our own thoughts telling us?

Unless you intentionally create it, it’s hard to find silence in the world today.  And even when we do, we often fill that void with mindless and meaningless activities.  My challenge today, for you and for me, is to welcome that silence.  Fight through the uncomfortable feeling and revel in it.

It’s in that space you can really get intentional about what you want to create in your life.

Kirby Hasseman is the CEO of Hasseman Marketing, a full service marketing agency located in Ohio.  Learn more about Hasseman Marketing here.  And if you are interested in have him speak at your next event, you can learn more here.