The Art of Silence

Editor's Note: This is a guest post from Al Monina at Istoryaheng Disyerto

Photo source: www.thenutgraph.com

Silence is an art, because not everyone can choose to be quiet without difficulty.

It requires a virtue of patience.

I don’t know since when I became silent. I’m not the quiet type in highschool and in college. I can say that I’ve become a completely different person as an adult. I became comfortable with my own silence, I found peace in solitude.

Wish I knew then what I know now. I would have been a silent person with very few words. I would not have committed some stupid mistakes.

Silence is golden as the saying goes. I understand why. If you are the type of person who does all the talking, it might be very beneficial to you to pause for a while and consider listening. Hear people what has to say, and you will be surprised that you can feel what they have to say even when they are not saying anything at all. You become more sensitive. I think it’s the same concept as “when one sense is lost, the others become stronger”.

The irony is that silence speaks volume of one’s emotion. When you are angry with someone, giving them a silent treatment will drive them crazy. While others would resolve to constant nagging, they do not know that not saying anything at all is like saying to the other person “I’m angry enough that you don’t deserve a word from me.”

Silence can also be a measurement of your intimacy or closeness with a person. For when you can sit around and feel comfortable with each other’s silence, not having the pressure of keeping a conversation going, it can be an indicator that your friendship has gone to a higher level.

Becoming silent will do wonders not only to yourself but to people around you. It can save you from pointless arguments, from hurting other people’s feelings, from giving the impression of being stupid just because you said something you didn’t think about, from embarrassment. It can save you from trouble. And the list goes on.

Try to be silent sometimes, you will be surprised with the loudness there is in silence.

Al Monina writes at Istoryaheng Disyerto, where she shares insights about life, love, and stories on being an overseas Filipino worker.