The (even more) Silent Why (& birds)

#075. Life is hectic. Sometimes we simply need to stop for a moment. And that’s what this short episode is all about. 

Oh, and birdsong…

Welcome to The Silent Why podcast, here to help you navigate loss and grief, and possibly... find hope. 

These new, very short, episodes will pop up every now and then to help you take a moment to check in and see how you're really feeling.  

6 minutes total, including 2 minutes of time for you and you alone - join me in an imaginary place and allow yourself to press pause on life for a short while. 

And for this first episode I'm asking you to come and join me as we watch the sun rise, while listening to the sound of the English dawn chorus (recorded around 5am outside our house) .

Transcript

Claire Sandys: Hello. Welcome to the even more Silent Why podcast. 

I don’t think it’s just me that's noticed how crazy and stressful life feels nowadays? It's tiring, right? Relentless, hectic, hard work on all levels - mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. There's pressure on all sides, even catching up with podcast episodes. So I've decided, to help me as much as you, I'm going to occasionally I'm going to put out an episode to encourage/force you to do something we all need to do every now and then. 

Stop. 

Breathe. 

Be still. 

Give your mind two minutes to check in with you. 

You’ve probably experienced listening to a podcast with adverts, and the advert comes on at a time when you can’t fast forward, so you’re stuck with your hands in the washing up bowl, or you’re in the shower, or you’re driving and you’re forced to listen to the whole advert… 
Well, I kinda hope you’re in one of those situations now, because I’m going to encourage you to do something and feel like you just have to do it. Pretend there is no option to stop or fast forward. Because I want to give you just 2 minutes, just for you. Let’s face it, you came to this episode expecting it to be at least 30 minutes anyway, so I know you have 2 minutes free and you know what, it might make all the difference to your day. 

In these episodes I’m going to transport you somewhere different each time, to come with me, and then just ask you to just think about one thing. 

[music]

Today we're going out early, to watch the sun rise and listen to the dawn chorus as the birds start their spring day with song. Come and sit with me on this bench and look towards where the sun will come up, over anything you choose to imagine. 

Listen to the birds. 

Take a moment to just turn your focus inward. 

Start with 3 deep breaths. 1, 2, 3.

Now, over the next 2 minutes, I want you to ask yourself how you're feeling right now. Fearful? Angry? Joyful? Content? Sad? Surprised? Disgusted? It might not be as obvious as you think. Sometimes there’s sadness behind the happy, sometimes there’s anger behind the sad, sometimes there’s numbness behind the frustration… Don’t try to name how you think you should be feeling, feel it first and see what’s really there.

And then wait. See what the answer is. 

So, how ARE you feeling right now?

[2 MINUTES OF DAWN CHORUS BIRD SONG]

Thank you, from me for joining me, but also they’ll be parts of your own body and mind that are grateful you stopped to notice them and check in. Whatever it is you identified, don't let it go without doing something with it. Whatever you feel led to do. Recognising emotions is a powerful way to understand ourselves better, feel more in control, and improve our Emotional Intelligence. 

Matt Haig said:
"You are not your feelings. You just experience them. Anger, sadness, hate, depression, fear. This is the rain you walk in. But you don’t become the rain. You know the rain will pass. You walk on. And you remember the soft glow of the sun that will come again."