When I was 11 years old, I was diagnosed with a “virus of the larynx”. My doctor’s prescription for recovery was to refrain from speaking for a week, allowing my larynx to repair itself.

I was righteously indignant! After all, “talking is my hobby”.

Amusingly bratty for sure. But to add insult to injury, my father Stanley wrote a short essay for me to read. The title: “The Pleasure of Silence”. I was not amused.

Well, all of these years later, I’ve come around to understanding that silence is a valuable and diminishing commodity. Think about it; when are you both exposed to silence and in a position to take advantage of its stillness?

Silence is healing, and soothing, and allows the human nervous system to settle. Settling into silence allows us to truly look within, and as meditation practitioner Tara Brach would say, relax out.

Years ago, I took a class at the School of Practical Philosophy (highly recommended) where we would begin each session with the “awareness exercise”. Part of the exercise was listening out as far as your ears would take you. Being in the middle of Manhattan, this part of the practice always surprised me, as it allowed me to sense spaciousness (the city can sometimes feel very boxed in.)

Since my NYC days, I’ve been in pursuit of silence. I recently found it in a new home where peace is one of the most appealing qualities. I’m composing this message to you on an early Sunday morning from the pergola of that very home. The outdoor air is hot, muggy and thick, and it’s still only 8am. As a result, the only ambient sound I hear are bird calls. No car horns, no planes, no alarms, no construction beeps, no motors droning on.

And as I breathe into the moment, I can feel my nervous system mending itself, in quite the same way that silence allowed my larynx to recover all those years ago.

Now that summer is here, lists of “summer reads” abound. Today, I invite you to consider Einstein’s wisdom:

“I think 99 times and find nothing. I stop thinking, swim in silence, and the truth comes to me.”

If Albert’s wisdom resonates, take one baby step more and commit to silence breaks each day during this hazy, hot and steamy summer. Enjoy a sense of peace and quiet. Feel the luxury!