"Quiet" Matters

I went in to my son's kindergarten class today for an observational visit. My son's teacher Mr Janzen mentioned that just like his sister, my son too is usually quiet in the class. He also mentioned that the quietness didn't mean that he didn't know the answer, he just was not keen on being very verbal in school.

A few years back I was apprehensive about my daughter’s quiet nature, especially in school. Now I am more comfortable and accepting of this side of their personalities, primarily because I see a lot of the other side of them at home and other familiar environments. They are expressive, talkative and at times quite rowdy.

In today's noisy world, talking more is associated with confidence. There appears to be a need to verbalize everything. Silence is thereby associated with a lack of confidence and social awkwardness. This view I think is mostly a modern phenomenon.

Silence in the old days was associated with inner strength and composure. Silence and quietness was an integral part in learning and a prerequisite for great creativity. When we are silent, we listen more keenly. Behind the silence is a deep process of listening, comprehending and registering. It will do us all some good to embrace silence.

"That state which is beyond speech and thoughts is silence. Learning happens in silence." 

 "Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together; that at length they may emerge, full-formed and majestic, into the daylight of Life"

"Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom"