Whatever your wishes to Santa may be, I hope that they do come true for you. I would just like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

May you and your family experience peace, joy and harmony. May we also extend that peace, joy and harmony to people around us. With the thought of peace, loving kindness, compassion and understanding towards each other, we will be able to make our common dream comes true – that one day we are living in peace and harmony.

Differences divide while similarities bond us together. There was a saying which I chanced upon previously but I couldn’t recall the author of it now; it goes, “One day people will realise that there is only one race in this world – the human race.” Let us starts peace from within us.

Thank you Cathy for sharing the lyrics of Imagine by John Lennon with me in the previous post.

Imagine by John Lennon

Imagine there’s no Heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

Some of them gave serious and thoughtful answers through their personal experiences; they had found the quietest place from hikes in the Rocky mountains while looking into the eyes of an eagle or quietness in moments of solitary amidst the vastness of the Sonoran desert or simply just be surrounded by nature.

The majority of people shared my thought that the quietest place is found in everyone – within oneself. It is easy for one to find peace during good times. But when one find peace within himself/herself, one can even find peace in the most traumatic and challenging time.

Through this peace that one find within oneself, one can obtain peace with others like what His Holiness, Dalai Lama said. And through this peace that one obtain with others, we can have peace in the world. Do you think that is possible? I believe it is possible.

Besides peace we make with ourselves, we must also be compassionate and kind to each other; treating each other with loving kindness as if you would be treating your family and friends. There is a saying, “There are no strangers in this world, but only friends we have not met.” And Mitch Albom said in his book, “Strangers are family you have yet to come to know.” There is a certain truth to this as I believe we are interconnected in this world. What we are doing may indirectly affect another.

Since we are not living life as a hermit, there are bound to be communication with people around us. With communication, misunderstanding can easily arise. There is a need for mutual understanding and respect for each other difference. Failing to put ourselves in another shoes usually lead to conflicts. This can be otherwise averted if we are not too quick to judge others or situations. Let us practice less haste and more patience.

Like what Dolly Parton said, “…if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” Perhaps, I can bring a little rainbow to you through this beautiful medley of “Over the Rainbow” and “What a Wonderful World” arranged by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. However, this version is covered by Aselin Debison. I found it soothing and it reflects my feeling for this weekend – “Rainbow” and a “Wonderful World.”

I wish for you a wonderful weekend with all the goodness in your life.

Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World

Somewhere over the rainbow way up high
And the dreams that you dream of
once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly
And the dreams that you dream of,
dreams really do come true
Someday I’ll wish upon a star, wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney tops,
that’s where you’ll find me
Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly
And the dreams that you dare to, oh why, oh why can’t I?
Well I see trees of green and red roses too,
I’ll watch them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

Well I see skies of blue and clouds of white
and the brightness of day
I like the dark
and I think to myself, what a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
are also on the faces of people passing by
I see friends shaking hands saying,
How do you do?
They’re really saying, I — I love you
I hear babies cry and I watch them grow,
they’ll learn much more than we’ll know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

First of all, does such a place even exist? Literally, yes. I enjoyed the quietness of a hike into the only hill in Singapore, Bukit Timah Hill, where I could only hear the birds, the insects, the moving of the trees and their branches and leaves in the wind. At time when the air was still, I would only hear the birds, the insects, my footsteps and my breathings. I enjoyed also a stroll along the beach in the night where one hears the rhythmic breaking of the waves onto the shore and the whispering of the breeze. Even lying down in bed at night with the light off, one could enjoy the tranquility that the night brings.

Where is the quietest place on Earth for you? It may be in one’s room, it may be in the toilet and it may even be when one is driving. The places and situations whereby one will find quietness will differ from person to person; Different folks, different strokes. In so speaking, is there even a point to ask, “where is the quietest place on Earth?” It would result in differing views anyway. Yet, this one question can help one to find inner peace.

Science seems to put it in a way which most could agree on. Theoretically speaking, the quietest place will be like a vacuum, a space entirely devoid of matter; not even air. Since there is no air inside a vacuum, sound cannot travel or exist and that would make it the quietest place? On Earth? If there is no air to breathe, how can one survive? Does such a place like a vacuum even exist naturally on Earth to begin with?

Aristotle said before and later again by Galileo that “nature abhors a vacuum.” Aristotle explained this by saying that Nature doesn’t play the ‘vacuum’ game and that something must be put into the place of where the air was. Since a vacuum cannot occur naturally (not man-made) in Nature, there cannot be a quietest place on Earth. Right? Scientifically right! However, there is a quietest place on Earth for everyone and it is regardless of science, the places and situations one is in. Although achievable, not everyone can reach that place without effort. It requires one to be connected. To what? Where is this quietest place on Earth that everyone can achieve?

Before that, let us take a look at the picture on the right. The picture shows a bench on the beach under the shades of the tree. It seems that the sun is about to set or it has just risen in the sky. The sea is calm, peaceful and tranquil. Imagine yourself sitting on the bench now, listening to the gentle sound of the waves and the breezes brushing on your face. While you are experiencing that quietness, take deep and slow breaths. Feel every breath you take; feel the air going through your nostrils, through your airways, down your body and eventually into your abdomen. Then you breath out slowly; feeling all the stale air coming out of your mouth in the slow, long breath. It will definitely feel peaceful and calm.

In comparison with the above picture, this picture shown a person sitting on a breakwater and the stormy sea crashing onto the breakwater, threatening to devour the breakwater with the person. The distant sky shown a thunderstorm impending. Now, go through the same exercise as you did; imagining you are the person sitting on the breakwater. Do you feel the same peace and calmness? It would be a challenge for many to feel the same peacefulness and calmness as compared to the above picture.

It is always easier to feel peace and calmness when the external environment speaks that; as with the first picture. The challenge is to feel the same peace and calmness when the external environment speaks otherwise; as in the second picture. When one is able to experience the quietness and tranquility even in the second picture, one has found the quietest place on Earth – in the inner self. A ‘vacuum’ that one can create within oneself that will not be disturb by external forces and circumstances. This is the quietest place which is reachable to all and yet cannot be easily achieved. It requires one to be connected – to oneself and to the greater force above.

I have found the quietest place on Earth that is within myself. Where would be your quietest place on Earth? Is it also within you? Please feel free to share with us.