When I decided to stop talking in the kitchen I had some thoughts on what benefits I would get from doing it. I was certain that I would enjoy a quieter kitchen. After all since I don't talk back most folks don't talk to me. Makes for a very nice environment.
I did not expect the other benefits that have come my way. It reminds me of the movie The Karate Kid, an old movie in which a young man is trained in the art of karate by a rather curmudgeonly fellow who insisted that he wax his collection of cars before he would ever teach him karate. Of course the kid was very impatient but when it came time to start the karate he discovered that waxing the cars had taught him a lot about the moves of karate. That's what my experience of not talking in the kitchen has been like.
My need to "chatter" away about whatever pops into my head has gone way down. I have discovered that most, if not all, "chatter" is the need to be social or the need to relieve some type of discomfort. Spending several hours a week in the kitchen while not talking has allowed me to adjust to the discomfort of not speaking. That discomfort doesn't go away but I now recognize it for what it is and do not let the discomfort push me into unnecessary speech. There's a lot more energy available to me now that I don't use it in unnecessary talk. My internal dialogue has slowed down allowing me to focus on what's happening in the moment.
So, like the wax on wax off method in Karate Kid not talking in the kitchen has given me skills that I can use in other areas of my life.
