Silence Has Its Own Voice
A friend asked a question from his followers about what their favorite sound was. Although there were many answers, the one that outnumbered the rest was the sound of silence. (No, I’m not about to sing so sit tight.)
Why was that? Why out of hundreds of people was silence in demand?
Let’s see if we can answer that by looking at some quotes.
“Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.” -Francis Bacon
“When we are silent, we die a little more inside.” -Heather Earles
“He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.” -Elbert Hubbard
“When you build in silence, they don’t know what to attack.” Anonymous
“Silence is the best response to a fool.” -Anonymous
“Silence. The most beautiful voice.” -Anonymous
“Silence is one of the great arts of conversation.” -Marcus Tullius Cicero
Here we have several different meanings or interpretations of silence. All are powerful and can ground or derail an individual. How can that be? We sit at a grave and silently weep; we silently pray when something goes right in our life. Every one of us has used the powerful silence in his or her life.
Silence has meant many things for me. I’ve been silent while hurting; silence has brought me peace. My silence has hurt others because I didn’t have the right words, was scared, or didn’t want to cause any more pain.
People deal with things in different ways, but all have been impacted by silence at one time or another. Like tears, silence doesn’t speak but still has a tremendous effect on you, the person.
When someone is thinking about suicide, rarely will anyone know. The opposite of that, when a man is thinking about proposing, he doesn’t shout it to the world, he barely makes it past his lips to ask his future wife. (no offense you guys ;).
After giving it some thought, I now understand and see why the sound of silence was the preference. It’s something we all do, need, and have been.
In the end, I don’t know which sound is the best, but I do know silence speaks louder than any.
-Heather Earles