TRY SOME SILENCE

Silence, the saying goes, is golden.
Never was that more true than in today's hectic, connect-at-all-costs world. We cannot take a step without one ear attached to a cell phone or iPod. We cannot seem to turn off the television, the computer or any of the other devices that assault our senses every second of the day. We are an ADHD nation, it seems, utterly addicted to the "now," as in "what might be going on now?" We simply have to know the latest dirt on everyone, the latest and freshest tidbit on neighbors and movie stars, family members and music makers. We simply have to know.
But we never seem to stop and ask ourselves why we need all of this mostly useless information, nor wonder if there is even a shred of accuracy in any of it.
Worse yet, we never seem to stop, shut it all away, and listen to the silence. We never seem to really stop and just think. Or not think.
This hyperactivity spills over to our conversations, if, indeed, people talking nonstop can be called a conversation. Not only do we seem to abhor silence, seeing it as void and empty instead of understanding its importance to thought, contemplation and understanding, but we also seem to be adverse to listening when we can just speak instead. For one person to talk, someone should be listening. But if one person does all of the talking and one does all of the listening, then you have a monologue, not a conversation. Conversation is the sharing of thoughts and ideas, with each person taking the time to listen as well as talk. And each considers thoughtfully what the other has said before responding. That happens all too seldom today as we rush to get our two cents into each and every exchange we encounter.
But we can change. We can put the brakes to this headlong rush into unlimited and untried information. We can stop for a second and just listen, take in what is being said and spend a minute or two thinking about it before responding. We also can take some time each and every day to sit in silence, in the quietest place we can find, to think, to consider, to ponder, to mull, to wonder, to question and just to shut out the hubub of noise and input and questionable information swirling about us at a frenetic pace all day, every day.
Try it and see if your head, and your thoughts, aren't a whole lot clearer as a result.