Silence is Priceless

When you say my name, I am no longer there. What am I?

Answer? Silence. (riddle from La Vita e Bella)

Silence can be exterior, when the machines are off and no one else is home. You look around and wonder what's missing. You realize that you need some kind of sound or you're going to go crazy. In a calm panic, you turn on the radio or television and give a small sigh of relief. One more problem fixed. Then you go about your merry way and forget that there ever was such a thing as silence. Another exterior silence is when you're in the car. More likely than not, music or talk radio is on and even blasting.

Silence can be awkward. After someone says something they think is funny and you don't, you don't respond. Someone could say something serious that you disagree with and then there's silence. Silence can be talking to someone that makes you feel uncomfortable and with whom you have little in common. At all times, though, you look to break the awkward silence.

Silence can be those precious few moments when a parent appreciates the "blissful silence" for all of two moments before the baby starts wailing. Silence can be the moments after receiving terrible news, when the person is in a stunned silence, trying to comprehend what they were told.

Silence can be a state of mind. The calm peacefulness that drowns out noise and leaves you rejuvenated. However, this silence is rarely experienced.

Too often in our modern world, we have the radio, the television, the iPod, the video games, the music, the machines...the noise...silence has no place in our times and is too rarely sought after. Why? Because of what silence causes.

When there is nothing else to distract us, we are forced to think. Often times, thinking leads to personal reflections. Sometimes, we don't like ourselves and would just rather not think about life, ourselves, our situations, and our shortcomings. We figure that if we refuse to recognize them, maybe, just maybe, they'll go away.

In reality, though, silence can be a great blessing as it calms us and helps us to find solutions to our troubles in life. When I sit in my room working on school, I sometimes space out and meditate. Sometimes I think of something I did, sometimes I think about my next blog, sometimes I think about someone in my life, sometimes I pray. Sometimes, I just enjoy the interior silence that rids me of my agitation.

Silence can be a beautiful way of talking to God. When you sit in silence, you can think of all the wonderful things He has done for you. You can talk to Him and ask Him to help you with things that are troubling you. You can ask Him to strengthen you in your shortcomings. "Ask and ye shall receive." Ask for it and it shall be given to you.

There are so many great things about silence, but these benefits are too rarely thought of. Spend five minutes of your day in silence and maybe you'll find yourself, if nothing else, having a better outlook on life.