Silence and noise are part of life. As progress has evolved, noise has increased in cities and also in our homes.  Silence is essential for our inner selves to think clearly, concentrate better, listen attentively, understand, and find peace of mind. It’s also crucial for opening ourselves up: to communicate more authentically with our hearts and the world around us.

We can distinguish between external and internal silence.  External silence is the absence of sound. It corresponds to those times when external noise disappears.  Internal silence, on the other hand, refers to a subjective state in which there are no elements that disturb tranquility. Internal silence promotes self-knowledge. External silence facilitates study and reading, which will be followed by personal reflection.

Not all silences mean the same thing or convey the same thing; sometimes they are even opposed. For many, silence simply consists of the absence of noise and words, but the reality is much more complex.  For example, a married couple dining alone in silence can signify a communion of love and feelings so great that it needs no further explanation. This is usually the silence of love. But it can also happen that spouses are unable to speak to each other due to serious prior differences. This would be a silence of rejection. The first message is of love, the second of the death of that same love. 

In a society so conditioned by technology and the media, silence becomes increasingly difficult. We also easily become intoxicated by words, music, and a multitude of noises.  The lack of silence prevents us from thinking for ourselves and forming our own opinions, making us more easily manipulated and superficial.

Silence is necessary to “distance ourselves” from problems and avoid being overwhelmed by their urgency and pressures.  Physical rest and inner silence promote a calm analysis of one’s own behavior, which will allow us to better understand ourselves: weaknesses in our character, positive qualities and acquired flaws, bad habits and accumulated imperfections.

I don’t know who said that great talent doesn’t consist precisely in knowing what to say, but in knowing what to keep silent. That’s why it’s said that each person is the master of their silence and the slave of their words.

This article was published in the Diario de Almería