Oasis
Credit: DH Photo
Silence has a lot to say, but only if you have the patience to listen. It can be much more eloquent than words and just as powerful. Silence provides us with the spaces we need to assimilate, to breathe, to grow.
I recently got into an argument simply because I could not control the urge to speak about a trivial matter that had been bothering me. Had I not said anything I would have found a resolution within myself and regained my sense of balance and calm sooner than later. Only when I had caused unpleasantness with my words that I need not have spoken, I realized that sometimes silence is the best answer to the petty demands made on us by unruly circumstances, difficult people and shoves of our own ego.
When a lake is perfectly still, calm and quiet, the surrounding area and environment is clearly reflected on the surface of the lake. The lake then becomes a mirror where we see things as they really are. However, when the tranquility of the lake is disturbed, the clarity goes away and the images that were previously clear get distorted. Words and actions can sometimes act like pebbles thrown on the surface of a serene lake, disquietening it. Silence allows the mutinous waters of our mind to settle down. It helps us regain clarity and perspective. It makes us see things as they really are. And when we see things as they really are there is no room for any kind of misrepresentation. When there is no misrepresentation there is nothing to clarify. When there is nothing to clarify we don't need words.
I’ve come to understand that with silence comes great power. The world never expects silence. It expects words, clarifications, discussions, motion, defense, offense and actions goaded by more words. Silence surprises the world and allows it to catch its breadth. The mind then takes precious moments it needs to regroup and recompose itself, giving us a fair chance at putting everything back together, in the best possible way.
When we are silent the world offers itself to us undisguised and magnanimous. Rumi said it, and I only reiterate “Silence is the language of Gods, all else is poor translation”.