One of the things I marveled about during my hot air balloon ride last month was the weight and the power silence can have.

There were sixteen people in my carriage, all chattering away, and it wasn’t until we were thousands of feet off the ground that people noticed it.

The stillness.

True, utter silence.

At that height, the rustle and bustle of the world is gone. All you hear is your own breath, the slight thump of your heart in your chest, and the whistling of wings from birds in the distance.

The silence is so heavy, it rings in your ears.

Like the memory of an echo, you think you can hear it but you’re actually just aware of the absence of sound for the first time.

The calm was like a blanket. Even the rowdy child, who was ever so inclined to rock the basket and earn a backhand from half of the passengers, grew quiet under its warm embrace.

All we could do was marvel at the beauty of a crisp sunrise, the golden-fingered clouds that parted under the magnitude of an azure sky.

I’m frequently reminded that silence is not a bad thing. It helps me be centered, and it helps me think. While I don’t think I can take a hot air balloon every time I need to disconnect, I do think I’ll make more effort to find my stolen moments of silence and beauty in every day life.

These moments of reflection help to reset the soul and make the noise of life that much easier to bear.

Optimistic for a peaceful day,

~ Victoria Elizabeth