Silence

Have you ever noticed that there is noise everywhere all the time?  Birds chirruping, dogs barking, the fridge in the next room, the cars on your street, the heat a/c unit, flourescent lights.  Many of us aren't satisfied with ambient noise, so we contribute artificial noise - radio, ipod, cd player or the television.  Of course, plenty of us do our share of talking.  I love to talk.  I'm positive there are times when people around me are too polite to say what they're thinking: "I hope she quietens soon."

Why do we surround ourselves with noise?  Are we afraid to be alone with our own thoughts?  Does anyone ever long for quietude and peace?  Or for something as simple as a pregnant pause?

When it comes to our own excess verbiage, here is something that gives me pause for thought:

"He who has knowledge spares his words,

And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.

Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace;

When he shuts his lips,

he is considered perceptive." Proverbs 17:17, 28

My father had a plaque in his office that read:

"It is better to remain silent and thought a fool

than to speak up and remove all doubt." Abraham Lincoln

I'll leave you with one last quote that stops me in my tracks, er, I should say words, every time.

“Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech.”

Martin Froquhar Tupper

Yours for more peaceful surroundings,
Hester