Wasn't it Mark Twain who said, it’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt? As usual, this man of many words struck gold with his pungent use of them.
Despite what many may think, I am a great believer in the power of silence, though like Twain, I am not the best practitioner of the art. I am, too often, the man who tells others, When I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you. I know my active mind, and how it longs to couple up with a dark compulsion to add my two cents to any debate. It goes without saying that when the nitro glycerin of my overly active mind meets with potassium permanganate of my convictions, an explosion takes place, and my good motives and logical perceptions get me in trouble, often of late in the form of being Unfriended on Facebook.
Silence is possibly the most underrated virtue in the human arsenal. It is both powerful and gentle, depending on it’s use. It’s power is seen in the fact that it alone unlocks the power of
the mind that is commonly held captive by the dishonesty of the tongue. In other words, spending time in our secret place of silence is the only time when honesty is free to do it’s painful but necessary work of molding our character.
Silence and honesty form a tag team that never loses. One empowers the other, and between them, we will be molded into people who understand the tranquillity of order that comes from personal integrity, or we can resist their strength choosing instead to sit and sip Dr. Jekyll’s brew becoming crazed with the disorder of duplicity and the false self.
I believe that everything ultimately improves for those who unwrap the gift of silence regularly.
Amazingly, silence both rewards and punishes those who seek it. One day, the box contains gifts of affirmation depending on how well we align our values with our routine practices of life. When we treat others as we would like to be treated and follow the inklings of love, we find silence completely golden. But, when we disregard our best values in order to achieve selfish goals, spending time in silence is like being chained in a medieval dungeon awaiting the next round of torture.
Our experience with silence is either the most peaceful time of the day, or the most painful, depending on how we demonstrate, or disregard, the daily rhythms of order that grow in the fertile soil of silence.
Jack C. Getz
September 24, 2017
