I listened to this song on repeat over the summer (a hallmark of school summer production season,) and there was just something about the lyrics - and this line in particular - that struck a chord (pardon the pun!)
‘And it is quiet… and I am warm.’
The staccato of those nine, cosy-core-conjuring syllables - it felt like an affirmation.
Like joy - stripped back to its bare, all-that-really-matters bones.
I was searching everywhere for a name for this sensation.
When one’s in-the-moment reality finds a fleeting (yet poignant) departure from the onrushing everyday, with all of its noise. And stuff. And gadgetised ‘comforts.’
The closest word I could find was…Chrysalism.
Coined by John Koenig, it refers to the tranquility and peace that you feel when indoors during a thunderstorm, but I’d be inclined to think this term could also be applied to all manner of *not necessarily rainy* but equally thankful-to-be-warm-and-dry situations.
On National Quiet Day, for this reason - Matilda the Musical’s ‘Quiet’ is definitely a mood, and especially with its subtext of neural uniqueness (you have to listen to the whole song to appreciate this.)
Fundamentally though, what I’m finding is that this song’s core premise of scaled-back gratitude - it slots in quite nicely, with an idea I’ve been *quietly* batting about for a while…
That is, that ‘down time’ - it isn’t nearly so important as ‘being time.’
‘Being time’ is of course open to interpretation, but for me… simplicity, solitude and snug-ness are its cornerstones, and part of the reason I'm still finding resonance with this song (and why it's top of the playlist) even though Matilda Mania, is now nothing but an aftertaste.
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