Silence - Sacred Opportunity

Especially in silence we can read volumes. What did she mean? Why did he say that?

We are bound by words. Sometimes carefully chosen, sometimes thrown in frustration or anger. We mean them and we lie through them. We give the right impression or we fling outward what comes to our minds. We don’t always censure when we should. We speak in whispers in the sanctum of a church, and raise our voices loudly above the blaring music in the neighbourhood bar.

Sacred Opportunity

We say, we’ll “try” to get someone off our back. We’ll try…to meet for coffee, get you that recipe, make an intro call to someone helpful. We use words to impress others, who we know, what we’ve done, what we have. Are we using our words to motivate or to manipulate? Only we know. Or perhaps we don’t.

But in our silence, we must stop and count our breaths, in and out, effortless, hear the heartbeat, feel the ache in our hearts. Are we lonely, feeling abandoned, changing direction? Are we joyful, grateful, fulfilled?

Quiet, the equalizer, the tormentor, the warrior, the hero.

So many ways we can use quiet. To scare, to humiliate, to isolate? To comfort, to enwrap, to protect? To worry, to make up stories, to forget?

Our words do not need to fill each space of silence. Because in those moments of silence, when we stop to contemplate, is when we define who we are.

Next time there is silence in our life, we might like to hold it sacred for the opportunity that it is. And then decide if our words are worth breaking it.

Holding silence as a sacred opportunity. (Click to Tweet)

Our words do not need to fill each space of silence. (Click to Tweet)