Can you hear it?
Listen up
Here’s a quick question. Is silence an actual sound or the absence of sound? Talk about a conundrum. If you are reading your favorite horror genre and it mentions an eerie silence that fell over the haunted house, can you actually hear that silence? Humans can be shocked into silence by a wary look (ask your mother) or even fall into silence in a spiritual setting. Even people of prominence can bring about silence when they walk in front of a crowd. Some teachers have this power as they enter the classroom. Silence has its own sound. Becoming mute when frightened is a physical cessation of noise. Prayers can be seen on the lips and not heard when they are spoken in silence but why does the mouth still move? It appears as though silence has many more aspects than initially thought. There are even signals that humans use to encourage silence. I remember having to place our pointer fingers in front of our lips to remain quiet in elementary school. The quiet time prior to the start in sporting events allows everyone to know that it is time to pay attention. Perhaps the most anticipated silence is just before falling asleep. Even with white noise, humans seem to prefer less noise. When flying, takeoffs and landings are generally quieter on most planes. It must be all of those silent prayers.
Take Five
Each week this year, read through the suggestions and see how they call out to you.
- What do your prayers sound like?
- How do you sound?
- What noise bothers you?
- What background noise helps you concentrate?
- Does sound tell a story?
Come back each day to see if something changes about the effect of an activity. Repeat choices to identify different thoughts. You are not the same person every day. Your life shouldn’t be either.
Live Alive
