The Sound of Silence

It can be deafening

The Silence by Stefano Bersani (Flickr - CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

“I will begin to speak when I have that to say which had not better be unsaid.” — Cato the Younger

I’ve been thinking a lot about silence lately.

It was prompted by the scene during Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, as her coffin made its way through the streets of London, accompanied by the military and a single toll of Big Ben every minute.

I intentionally watched it unfold on The Royal Family’s YouTube channel, to avoid the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade-style of endless commentary on the broadcast networks.

The sense of calm and quiet among the horde of onlookers was jarring.

We can learn a lot — about ourselves, about others — if we pay attention to the silence in our lives.