What would a Day of Silence mean to you? I was thinking about this today because I will be giving myself a Day of Silence soon and wondering what can I let go of to increase the serene silence of most of my days. I mean, I do most of my work from home and I'm a homemaker - that means very little verbal conversation with people until my husband gets home at night. I do talk with the animals who live in our home, and I occasionally sing or answer the telephone, but generally most days are days of relative silence around here which is what I created and what I enjoy. So, how to take that a step further?
To reduce what comes out of my own mouth, let's see... I can rely upon body language with the dogs and cats; when I sometimes go silent (being introspective, or studying or maybe a sore throat), they become more attentive and responsive - but not always - so that will be interesting. No answering the phone! And, if I need to go out to run an errand, put on one of those little pins that says "In Loving Silence" so others know why I'm not speaking -- or hang a big placard around my neck to that effect! LOL That's pretty much it for my own voice. It would be really simple to do.
What about the noise/silence surrounding me? Do I have any interest in reducing that during a specially designated Day of Silence? What could I do there? Again, our home is pretty quiet as I don't usually have music or anything playing in the background, just the normal, everyday noises of the animals. I suppose I could go somewhere? Somewhere that I don't need to do any talking myself, but is also quiet surroundings. In the summer that would be easy -- head out to a national park and walk or study there. And we still have some mild weather days left this season so I could maybe manage something to that effect if I wanted to take the silence to that level. Do I want to? Hmm, I'll think about it!
Setting aside an entire Day of Silence is an interesting proposition! To be alone with one's thoughts without distractions? Or to be unable to communicate verbally with other people? To have the external silence in order to find the stillness within? What might happen?!
I learnt along time ago, living a life similar to yours but more remote and isolated, that there never is silence: there is the sound of the wind, the sound of the waves in the distance, the sound of insects, of shrews fighting in the long grass, birds twittering singing and quarrelling, the sound of leaves rustling, etc, etc. Perhaps in somewhere as isolated as the North Pole, on a very still day, there might be silence?
ReplyDeleteSo true, thus the "degrees" of silence. Or perhaps refer to silent 'whatever'? Or brief instances of silence? Or that nano-second when we pause on an inhale and our ears seem to alert to a *perceived* loss of sound? Life is not silent but it can *seem* to become soft and muffled at times, don't you feel? I read once where Helen Keller said that she would rather have been without her sight than without her hearing, because hearing no sound was far more isolating than not seeing.
ReplyDeleteI think that living by the coast with high winds silence of any sort, even for a second, seems impossible to find. Even when the winds suddenly stops as it changes direction,the sounds seem to keep echoing round. I can't wait to live away from the sea and then try to capture moments of silence if they exist.
ReplyDeleteWow. I can't imagine that. There are often moments of silence (or near as possible) here especially during winter when a blanket of snow is heavy and muffling ... and then if the power goes out ... and all is stillness when my breath can sound LOUD until I hold even that...
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