Have You Heard Silence?
Have You Heard Silence?

Photo by Birger Strahl on Unsplash

I wake to the lovely sounds of the dawn chorus outside. This is followed by the unlovely sound of me yawning. Then my footsteps on the stairs, the sound of running water, a kettle boiling, a lemon being squeezed, an egg frying, me chomping, a car starting, me talking on the phone at work. And so my day unfolds, one sound after another, revealing my whereabouts and what I’m doing.

Sometimes I crave silence.

But where is silence?

We think stars only shine at night, because that’s when we see them. But stars are shining all the time. Day and night. Everyday sunshine blocks them from our view.

Similarly, we think of silence as only existing when there is no sound. But silence is here all the time. It’s around and within us. Everyday noise fills our ears and prevents us from noticing it.

But even if you locked yourself in a soundproof room, you still may not find silence. Why not? Because thoughts make a sound, too, like scattering mice pattering across a wooden floor. Or a branch of dry leaves rattling in the wind. Incessant. Relentless. Distracting.

So how can you hear or experience silence?

You don’t need to find a mountaintop cave or crave admittance to a monastery. Silence is everywhere. Every cell of your body is composed of silence. Silence is an underpinning ingredient of all creation.

You don’t really hear silence.

It’s within everything.

You let it through.

Silence is you, all the time.

With love, Marlane
['Marlane Ainsworth']
['Spiritual', 'Inspiration', 'Silence', 'Consciousness', 'Mindfulness']