Lesson From the "Day of Silence"

Every year in Bali, there is a day of silence, known as Nyepi.

For 24 hours the whole island shuts down.

Not a single place is open and everyone has to stay inside for the full day. If you try to go outside, you will be told to go back inside immediately by the local police that patrol the streets.

When it goes dark, you aren't allowed to put on any lights other than candles.

You also have to stay very quiet (hence it's called the Day of Silence).

Despite the strict rules around it, it is one of the most magical days of the year.

I just experienced my 11th Nyepi this week, and I would like to reflect on what I've learnt from the silence.

Reflection #1: It's good to slow down

Nyepi is the one day of the year where you are forced to slow down.

For a number of years, I used to struggle with this.

I wanted to go outside, hit the gym or play some padel.

I remember not long ago, they used to also turn off the internet, which left you feeling very disconnected.

These days however, I really look forward to it.

I see it as my annual reset, where I can relax and fully recharge.

As someone who is always on the go, it's a nice opportunity to just do nothing.

Rather than resisting it, I now embrace it.

This year more than any year previously, I felt very present and relaxed.

I felt grateful for the opportunity to unplug from the world, even if it was only for 24 hours.

Reflection #2: Nothing is as urgent as you think

Despite what your mind might make you believe, nothing is really that urgent.

You don't need to check your phone, reply to messages or keep up to date with the latest news.

If anything, giving yourself time to disconnect is a more urgent matter.

We've conditioned ourselves in recent times to always be stimulated.

Yet so much of the joy in life is when we are present in the moment we are in.

Which often means shutting down our devices and being fully there with the people around us.

If I'm being honest, this is something I need to be more mindful of myself.

I don't need to know every Premier League score, who Trump has just bombed, or what the latest scandal is circulating social media.

For the most part, I'd be happier not knowing (especially when my team Newcastle gets thrashed 7-2 by Barcelona).

The way I see it, the important news will always find you.

When the world is ending and you need to evacuate, someone will let you know.

99.999999% of the things happening in the world you have no control over, and no way to impact.

You don't have to go full recluse mode, I know I don't plan to, but I do feel like we all need to actively disconnect from all the craziness going on in the world on a regular basis.

Reflection #3: We are a small ant in a mind-blowingly big universe

Did you know that when you look up at the sky, there are billions of stars there all the time?

I know that might sound stupid to some of you, but to me, I hadn't really thought about it.

If they were there, then why couldn’t I see them? This was my very primal logic.

What I didn't realise until Nyepi, was that the only reason we can't see them is because of light pollution.

When everyone is made to turn off their lights at night, something amazing happens.

You look up at the sky, the same black sky you look at every evening, and it's now filled with stars.

And when I say filled with stars, I mean thousands, maybe even millions of stars, become visible to the naked eye. Not only can you see them, they seem much closer than you ever thought they were.

Every year this blows my mind.

We are standing below a sky full of billions of stars, and on a cloudless night, the only reason we can't see them is because of artificial light pollution.

It makes me feel both awe and insignificance.

Awe at the magnitude of the universe we live in, and insignificance at how small me and my problems are.

Final reflection:

I feel like the whole world would benefit from a yearly silent day.

A day where everyone disconnects from their hectic lives and sits under the stars.

Where you are encouraged to just be present and connected with those around you.

Because here's the thing: we don't actually need more stimulation.

We need the opposite.

We need reminders that we are tiny specks floating on a rock beneath a sky full of billions of stars.

That most of what we stress about is, in the grand scheme of things, completely irrelevant.

That the people sitting next to us matter infinitely more than whatever is trending online.

Nyepi gives me that reminder once a year.

But I don't think I should wait 365 days for it.

Maybe the real takeaway isn't about one day of silence.

It's about carving out small moments of it, every single week.

You don't need an entire island to shut down to find your version of Nyepi.

You just need to put down your phone, shut down your laptop, and fully connect with the moment you are in.

That's what I plan to do more of.

Adam