Was there ever a generation so heavily assaulted by external stimuli?
Sara Eisemann LMSW, ACSW
“Lo matzasi l’guf tov elah shtikah — I have found nothing better for the body than silence.” (Avos 1:17)
How wise were our Chachamim; they knew what science is just beginning to learn. As our knowledge of the brain unfolds, it’s becoming very clear that the body craves stillness to heal. We knew that silence was golden and kept us safe from ills of the tongue, and we understood intellectually that silence is the gate to newfound knowledge. But now, we understand that silence is precious even for the body itself.
Once when my son was little, he got overwhelmed by whatever was going on. He turned to me and said, “I need a piece of quiet.” Our world today agrees. Our nervous systems live on high alert, always prepared to ward off the next threat, but to truly heal and regenerate, our body needs the peace that is born of silence.
I don’t know that the challenges of our generation exceed that of previous generations, but I do believe they are different. Was there ever a generation so heavily assaulted by external stimuli to the point where one can literally go through an entire day and never have a quiet thought? The capacity to sit and be still has been sorely compromised and is becoming obsolete. We may even believe we’re being productive as we confuse busyness with productivity, mistakenly holding productivity as the gold standard of a good life.
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