Sounds of Silence

     As I sit here surrounded by a shroud of silence, I come to relish it. There is something to love in the quiet peace at the end of the day. Looking out into the dark pool of night in the countryside. I have found that there are so many sounds of silence. I tend to welcome them often and I contemplate them even more.

     I am one who can easily drive in solitude in my car each day. The silence around me filled with thoughts. Lists of things to do while looking back at yesterday. They fill my head. On a good day I can meander and drift into thoughts of hopes and dreams for a while. It is a good silence and keeps me moving forward. My mother used to ask me how I could be so quiet in the car. I would smile and tell her that I was thinking. She always thought aloud I guess. Not me. My best thoughts come in silence.

     However, silence can also fill the space of anger. The quiet may taste bitter with its emotion held tightly in check. The silence all-knowing that hurtful words may have been spewed never to be forgotten, or sitting on the tongue ready to fall. A silence of reflection and needed quiescence. A silence to heed.

     There is also the silence of breath held in anticipation waiting in expectation. You know it and I’m sure have heard it. When we watch competitions and just for a moment hold our hope in silence as if in a spell. Finally shattered by screams of fans in exaltation or despair. The extra point was good, the goal was made, the game won or lost. And the bit of silence is gone as quick as it showed up.

     There is the silence shared between two people when our hearts are heavy and low. It comes with sorrow or sadness and grief. It is an important sound of silence. Just and strong, it stands on its own. But many people fear this interlude and try to fill it with words and babble. It is an important quiet peace and should be respected but not feared. When left alone it says so much more than words.

     One of my favorite moments of silence is suffused with tenderness and love. It seems to suspend in time and feels fuller than the sea. The song of this silence may sing of honesty, understanding and unconditional love. Eyes meet, a gaze is shared, assured that love is pure and deep and will be forever. I can sit in this silence and watch the world drift by losing myself in its sweet fragrance. No requests and no expectations, just being in the moment with our souls.