Silence

Be Still

Be Stopped

Be Silent

Silence in heaven represents a brief opportunity for sinners to repent and saints to revere.

I’d like to be very specific here for this post on silence. I am talking about the time and place we may find ourselves with the opportunity to be silent.

We generally find ourselves through every available action generating noise, speaking, writing.

Today more than ever we don’t allow ourselves to be silent.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to break down, and a time to build up, a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak“¹. – Soliman

The other day, in a discussion with a friend, he reflected on an experience he had at church and wanted to think a bit more deeply about silence.

I decided that for this week, I’d look at this very specific area of silence to briefly touch upon a lesson or thought. As I started reading, it didn’t take long for the message to appear. Here is what I was told.

There may not be anything as good for the body as silence.

It is also said that we are given a finite number of words in our lifetime. There are a few interpretations of this but one of the more prominent thoughts is that when we use up our words, our lives are over. This concept places silence as a very important part of our lives. Another interpretation is that G-d knows what we say. Regardless, this lends itself to understanding the power and healing opportunities of silence.

The Talmud says:
“What is man’s task in the world? To make himself silent.”¹

This emphasizes the value of silence and self-restraint in communication. Another teaching from the Talmud states:

“The entire world exists only in the merit of the person who restrains his words at the time of a quarrel.”¹

These teachings highlight the wisdom in knowing when to remain silent and the positive impact it can have on one’s life and relationships.

Silence is a protective fence around wisdom. We must learn how to become silent for the sake of learning. I hear the words from the instructor and my mind raced ahead so quickly, I did not hear what she had said beyond a certain point. The net result is I didn’t hear the whole thing, and I didn’t learn what was necessary.

We often find ourselves ahead of others, but our minds may not be able to imagine or envision something that it does not already know. Our questions should come after the lesson.

Proverbs says, “even a silent fool is considered wise.”

Silence holds a significant place in various religious traditions around the world. Here are some insights and quotes from different religions:

Buddhism

Buddhism emphasizes the power of silence for self-discovery and enlightenment. Gautama Buddha said:

• “Silence is an empty space, space is the home of the awakened mind.”¹
• “Do not speak – unless it improves on silence.”¹

Hinduism

In Hinduism, silence (Mauna) is seen as a path to inner peace and spiritual growth. Swami Vivekananda stated:

• “The ideal person is he who, in the midst of the greatest silence and solitude, finds the intensest activity, and in the midst of the intensest activity finds the silence and solitude of the desert.”²

Islam

Islam teaches the importance of speaking good or remaining silent. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:

• “Whoever believes in God and the Last Day should speak a good word or remain silent.”³

Taoism

Taoism values silence as a source of strength and wisdom. Lao Tzu said:

• “Silence is a source of great strength.”⁴
• “Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.”⁴

Confucianism

Confucianism also highlights the virtue of silence. Confucius said:

• “Silence is a true friend who never betrays.”⁵
• “If what one has to say is not better than silence, then one should keep silent.”⁵

In your world, how could you find or create opportunity for silence?

The first thing I did was ask for help. I found myself with a medical yoga instructor from the VA. She started teaching me different types of exercises to help create calm and create space for myself. I started looking for quiet and seeking silence. Silence itself is very difficult to find but in practice, we can create space for ourselves to choose silence.

When in the heat of the moment, do you automatically say something in return? I’ve found there is time to slow things down and choose silence. It doesn’t mean that you can’t address an issue or a concern but there is a time and a place for it. Escalation is a choice.

I also looked for any place in my life where there was excessive noise and disruption, and I backed away from that. I wrote about this a few times in the sense of pruning connections. This was all towards leaning in on silence and healing.

Silence allows for discovery and often times, peace. I don’t want to walk the earth in total ignorance but there is a difference between being hyper connected to everything vs choosing when and where specifically to speak.

Many know of Mark Twain’s very famous quote on speaking up and looking the fool, but he also said
“Drawing on my fine command of language, I said nothing.”¹

I think this is a powerful statement. I understand language enough to know when to say something not just what to say.

There are endless opportunities for silence. Most of the time, you are in total command of it. I discovered that I did not require an instruction book, just a reminder of what comes naturally.

Finally, I’d like to conclude with this quote:

Blaise Pascal:

“All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.”¹

At some point, in my estimation, we must learn to sit along with ourselves to discover ourselves, forgive ourselves and convert misery, suffering, disappointment and sadness into peace, love and acceptance.

What do you think?