Silence is so underrated. See the problem is that we fear it more than anything. Think about it; as soon as there is a lull in a conversation we begin to frantically search for a new topic to fill the dreaded silence. Once lively chatter in a car begins to die, the music gets louder. When we are alone, we fill the silence with ear buds or the buzz of social media running through our heads. But why? What is it about the lack of noise that we are so utterly afraid of?
Our society has become obsessed with the need to know. We obtain this need through social media; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, you name it. Daily, we keep ourselves busy talking, chatting over text, updating ourselves on the latest news, and the latest celebrity stories about who’s dating who. News spreads like wildfire because we just can’t keep quiet. We bind ourselves to the need to know, and we can’t imagine life without these… limits. We have left no room for uncertainty. If there is even a trace of uncertainty, it is quickly filled with people, knowledge, understanding, answers, noise.
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Let me explain further.
Think about this: Silence. It is a mystery; it is an unknown. Therefore, it is terrifying. There the no way we can know what another is thinking during a lull in the conversation. There is no way we can be “in the know” if there is no social resource updating us on the news. With silence comes uncertainty. What is he thinking? What is she thinking? We need to feel included and that is okay. In fact, it is necessary for emotional health but let me say this.
With silence comes limitless possibility.
In silence, we are unbound. The possibilities are endless. There are no limits, no fences no roadblocks. Nothing. This world was formed within silence. The greatest relationships are formed once two minds can understand each other without saying a word. There is a strange beauty in this, and no one can deny it. Within silence, we are unbound and our minds are free to wander. We are limitless. We know nothing and yet everything all at once and this terrifies us. Once silent, we are afraid of ourselves? Maybe. We are afraid of what we are capable of outside this world that has given us rules, boundaries, noise. Or rather… what we are not capable of.
Silence creates this unawareness among people. We don’t know what they are thinking, we don’t know. So instead, we contain our imaginings, our boundless energy and limitless possibilities, and our ability to sit and be. We resort to facebook, news stories, find a new topic of conversation, and turn the volume up.
So let me challenge you. I want to challenge you to take a moment to sit in silence. To find something that is unknown and let it be known.
Pause. Turn down the volume. Listen to the silence.
