Silence
"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends"
"Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter: therefore, ye soft pipes, play on"
One quote by Martin Luther King, the next by John Keats.
I've been thinking about silence recently. Someone said to me that we all tend to run away from it. And we don't often (if ever) allow ourselves to enjoy silence. Take me for example. Get up, put on a radio, and an iPod while cycling to work. People all day at work. And if not people, then concentrating on email, or website, or powerpoint slides, or something or other. iPod home. TV, Music, Laptop, Book, Sleep.
So when I do want some peace and quiet, that usually means listening to some peaceful music. Or picking up a book. The last time I just sat in silence , with no distraction, and nothing to fill or obliterate the silence was......never, probably. Maybe I'm scared of it, or maybe it's such a stranger to me.
I think I'm going to find time to listen to the sound of silence - to discover what it's like. But not just yet.
"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends"
"Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter: therefore, ye soft pipes, play on"
One quote by Martin Luther King, the next by John Keats.
I've been thinking about silence recently. Someone said to me that we all tend to run away from it. And we don't often (if ever) allow ourselves to enjoy silence. Take me for example. Get up, put on a radio, and an iPod while cycling to work. People all day at work. And if not people, then concentrating on email, or website, or powerpoint slides, or something or other. iPod home. TV, Music, Laptop, Book, Sleep.
So when I do want some peace and quiet, that usually means listening to some peaceful music. Or picking up a book. The last time I just sat in silence , with no distraction, and nothing to fill or obliterate the silence was......never, probably. Maybe I'm scared of it, or maybe it's such a stranger to me.
I think I'm going to find time to listen to the sound of silence - to discover what it's like. But not just yet.
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I've been thinking about this recently and failing to do anything productive about it. Someone mentioned in the morning prayer meeting last Sunday that they appreciated the bit of silence we had, and that often often silence is missed out or rushed at church.
You're right, in general life most of us try to avoid silence. Maybe this is because we don't want to have to think about things or something.
On my course most people struggle to learn to be comfortable in silence - yet it's really important.
You're right, in general life most of us try to avoid silence. Maybe this is because we don't want to have to think about things or something.
On my course most people struggle to learn to be comfortable in silence - yet it's really important.
Well there you go Stevie, that was an example of “Zen blogging”, the philosophy that takes silence to its ultimate conclusion. As I’m practicing this philosophy at the moment (“The silence” as some people call it) I’m posting either blanks or nothing at all, which should go down well with some people. I recently posted nothing on Joolian’s and Helsalata’s blog, although they haven’t noticed it yet – after all, no one can see nothing . The massive uninterrupted tract of sheer blank space that has recently appeared on the right hand side of Helsalata’s blog has nothing to do with me I hasten to add. Anyway I had better practice some more Zen blogging and shut up. There’s nothing like a bit of Zen to increase one’s spiritual street cred.
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