A Day Of Silence

Have you ever spent a day of complete silence, rest and relaxation where you don't even watch TV?  In fact you can't use electricity, cook, make a noise and you can't leave your home for a whole 24 hours? In Bali, they call this day 'Nyepi'.  I have to admit that last year, I ran away from it and escaped to urbanisation, thinking I would go stir-crazy if I was forced to keep quiet, have no electricity and not be allowed out of my own home for a whole day and night, having only a candle to light up the darkness in the evening. Even the airport is closed for this day of silence. This year, I decided to give 'Nyepi' a go and had my perceptions trasformed.

Nyepi means silence. The event starts on the day of Bali's lunar New Year. During the run up to Nyepi, the Balinese people spend ages painstakingly making 'Ogoh-Ogoh', which are big, monster looking statues that represent evil spirits. On the eve before Nyepi, these statues are paraded along the streets by the Balinese people who make lots of noise, setting off fireworks to create a huge din. After all the evil spirits lurking in Bali are awoken and many of the 'Ogoh-Ogoh' are burned, there is complete silence the 24 hours - 6am to 6am the following day. The purpose of this day of silence is to fool the evil spirits into thinking that nobody lives on the island, so they will go elsewhere.

So two important life lessons from Nyepi for me:

1. It's really is good to force yourself to slow down, take time out, relax and enjoy silence, even sitting in the darkness as night falls and then seeing a way more incredible array of stars. The sense of silence on the day, was quite palpable, like a blanket over the whole island, no background noises of cars, motocycles, or even airplanes.  It enables and encourags you to slow down, you even start to move quietly and appreciate the peace and silence, being happy with how simple life can be.

2. The second thing is; rather than getting worked up about being 'forced' into a situation, I could choose how I responded.  We all have a choice on how we respond to what happens to us. Recently, my 10 year old daughter asked me why do the local people of Bali look and smile at her. I explained that with her blonde hair and blue eyes she did stand out just a little and that they were being nice and friendly. Her response was that they smiled at her because they were laughing at her.  This was simply her interpretation.  It was only real to her because she made it this way. She had a go at choosing her response and it was far better to think of these people smiling at her in a welcoming, rather than a laughing way. Sometimes it helps to put on different lenses and see a better perspective.

"Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content."
Helen Keller

Take time out for yourself and enjoy a real day of silence.

Janet