The 3 S’s of solitude, silence and stillness are a key part of my self-care prescribing to highly sensitive clients. Most HSPs need big chunks of these throughout their days to fend off overwhelm and be able to come back to themselves, and feel more centred and grounded.
I love this poem below by Mary Oliver as it’s a beautiful reminder to do this.
Today I’m flying low and I’m
by Mary Oliver from A Thousand Mornings, 2012
not saying a word
I’m letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep.
The world goes on as it must,
the bees in the garden rumbling a little,
the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten.
And so forth.
But I’m taking the day off.
Quiet as a feather.
I hardly move though really I’m traveling
a terrific distance.
Stillness. One of the doors
into the temple.
“I’m letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep” is such a poignant reminder that the mind can so easily dominate HSPs. It tries it best to make you forget that you are also made up of a sensitive nervous system and body. It’s the body and nervous system that most often needs a rest, even though the mind is jockeying you to keep going..
“I hardly move though really I’m travelling a terrific distance” speaks to me of the HSP depth of processing. How in the stillness, silence & solitude, allowing our minds free reign can counterintuitively help to settle it. Maybe we literally run out of thinking – impossible for an HSP I hear you say – but unstructured, unfettered thinking for a while can lead to such calm. Many times it’s the forced thinking or resistance to letting go that hinders and keeps you locked in hypervigilant overthinking. I’m not talking about meditation here. That has its place. I’m referring to taking time out to allow daydreaming. Then, sometimes, magical ideas or solutions just appear with less effort.
So even if you’re busy with a young family, working full time, caring for relatives or any number of circumstances that don’t naturally allow for the 3 S’s, maybe you could find space for just 5 minutes daily and see what happens.