Have you ever noticed how people become frantic when their routines are taken away?

It is commonplace to hear stories about retirees who go into a funk because they no longer have offices to occupy, people to see, appointments to keep, and decisions to make.

Kids, who have their iPod, TV, cell phone, and video game privileges suspended, find it hard to occupy their time with more than nail biting and moping.

What these suddenly freefalling spirits have in common is the inability to let their mud settle, as the Tao, the famous book of Chinese wisdom describes it. They fear silence, because something unexpected might sneak up on them.

And of course, this is natural, especially if were living an inauthentic life or one that is jam packed with superficialities. When reflexive routines stop, suddenly were confronted by nothing more than our inner voices.

Typically, these voices are dumb, if were not used to conversing with them. They recite trivialities, and cycle through the debris of our consciousness.

But when we're graced with a suspension of the commonplace, this provides an opportunity to court our inner beings, as meditation practitioners know.

To be free of routine, beyond the reach of reinforcements, rewards and punishments, is incredibly refreshing.

We get a chance to ask interesting questions, such as What am I? and What is meaningful? and How do I want to feel? and Where am I going in such a hurry?

By living through the fear of silence, of stasis, of nothingness, we earn an opportunity to put fear aside, and this is a stunning achievement.

Knowing this is possible, at first momentarily, and then for longer periods, is empowering.

Our cars, 401k plans, business and social importance are significant only inasmuch as they have helped us to arrive at that special moment, when our mud settles, and at last, we can see through it and into ourselves and the infinite.