Day 1 - 16 Hours of Silence

Quiet's Trial Run

The real first day of 16 hours begins this evening at 8 pm.  Today was a good exercise in something more than futility and less than success. Puppy play, phone calls, kids unaware of the clock, and other tests try your ability to remain silent for 16 hours straight.

You have the right to remain silent! Even with three teens and a puppy.

Observances 

1.  I REALLY like silence and charades in the morning better than whispering and talking, unless speaking is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for getting kids out the door.  Then, the fewer words the better. Charades with bleary-eyed teens first thing in the morning is THE BEST!

2.  The puppy is a great alarm clock for the girls. She storms into their rooms with all love and excitement, wakes them abruptly by rooting through their stuff, and greets them with a snuffle before she moves on to the next room. 

3. When I am not noisily nagging girls to get out the door (the lone boy left at home is good at getting upon his own) one of might miss the ride to the train. So sorry. Sure do love you. 

4.  I am going to be really glad for these silent hours during the next few days of helping Hannah during play rehearsals with 36 third-fifth graders.  I was there for two hours and left exhausted of voice and body. She stayed an hour longer and then had another play practice afterwards. She is amazing. I am tired. 

5.  Driving in silence, especially for trips beyond a few miles, is NOT my favorite. 

Meditation

For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.  --Matthew 12:37

1.  Some of my silence is filled with prayers for a the people very close to me unexpectedly facing the reality of their own mortality. 

2.  Also, prayers for fleas infesting a family-member's home. "Go in peace, little fleas." 

3.  A smiling meditation is in order for the drive home from the train and the morning walk with the puppy. 

Fails

1.  I used words to make sure one girl REALLY knew it was time to go. In 16 Hours of Silence, words should not be used in harsh tones.  Ugh!

2.  At 10:13 a.m. I totally forgot my experiment when I needed to make a phone call. I make the call,  talk for 15 productive minutes, then spend 10 more minutes distracted by the fact that I should have waited a few hours.  Total fail! Oh well. Return to silence. 

3.  Might as well make answer the phone call from my sister.  But, that's it. QUIET!

Note:  I decided some failure shouldn't mean all failure.  Don't throw the day away because I forgot my plan once or twice.  No "Go big, or go home" here. Just shut up and move on with the quiet. Like any difficult endeavor, don't give up 'cause you messed up. Failure is not defeat. 

Monty Python's Chanting Monks - imgur.com

Quotes of the Day

"Pi-e Jesu Domine, Dona eis requiem," Don chants around the kitchen like a demented monk from Monty Python. "I think that's what you're going to be doing all day. Does your experiment include chanting?" No, but now that you mention it.....

"Let's just watch the next episode, Mom can't tell us no," the oldest kid in the house says with a wry smile. I stand up and turn the TV off. 

"I get a drive to the train. Mom said." Uh, Mom said nothing

New Experiment

Today begins another experiment:
16 hours of silence, every day for 10 days (except Sunday, I get to rest from silence on Sunday. Plus, several hours of my Silent Time will be spent sleeping).

It brings a new focus on an old commandment. This one is number three:
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

Why?
If everyone is made in the image of God, speaking words "devoid of real worth" is breaking this commandment. Jesus said:

"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."

I am preparing the abundance of my heart. Its kinda full of all sorts a crap right now. You should have heard me bag on Leo DiCaprio during the Oscars, just for fun out of the meanness of my heart. or, yell at all the drivers and say i wished i had trick tacks that could spit out of the sides of my car to impede them on their journey. This mouth speaks too much the HARD THINGS IN MY HEART. For 10 Days I will hold personal silence from 9 pm in the evening to 1 pm the following afternoon.

After 10 days, I will spend the remainder of the month with pure speech: no complaining, no gossiping, no angry words. See why I need 10 days of silence. I really, really need 10 days with 16 hours of silence a day to learn to measure my words.

Note: This experiment is not meant to be duplicated or judgey.  I'm just extreme in my personal experiments and my need for quirky means of observing common practices.  

Here are some of my not-so-silent to-dos for the next 10 days:

• Coordinate details for the play Hannah is student directing
• Get kids to and from rehearsal all for Broadway in Utah
• Train a puppy
• Prepare refugee sisters for their presentation at the UN
• Run through all presentations for the UN, decide on best moderation techniques
• Finalize all arrangements for UN trip
• Reach out to everyone I met in NY last trip and invite to our event, plan for attending theirs
• Help coordinate daily briefing for the trip 
• Figure out food for our events. Here's to dollar slice pizza. 
• Manage a family, run a life.

Never perfect, always trying. We'll see how it goes.

Rules of the Silence Experiment
1. Choose your 16 hours - Avoid excessive external stimulation: Music, radio, Other media. Provide space for your thoughts.

2. Tell all the people.

3. Don’t speak unless you are spoken to, or you need to train a puppy with love or correction.

4. When you do speak, choose words that are quiet and few. And then return to silence.

5. Go all Depeche Mode. Enjoy the silence. Notice your urges to speak. They will be far more common than you expect.