Silence Speaks Loud

Where silence should speak loud, we speak instead. Where words of love would heal we do not dare to voice them: from sound and silence both have fled.

-Madeleine L'Engle

These lines have always been my favorites of Madeleine L'Engle's. A great, creative writer, Madeleine has a way of showing the reader something ordinary in an artistic, thoughtful way. She gets me thinking differently, which is partly why I love reading her books. Whether fiction or non-fiction. In just a few sentences she articulates the issue from both sides in a thought provoking context.

How many of us keep silent when we should speak? Or speak when we should encourage the silence?
I have observed that silence makes most people uncomfortable. I use those silent moments to take in other people. I like to see how they react to pauses in conversation. The majority of people will fill any silent moment with random comments when sometimes they lose the fact that a pause in a conversation can speak volumes. There might be a meaningful silence that someone is filling with rubbish right now.

And on the other side, sometimes we are given the opportunity to show love through our words and we let that chance slip by. Our words can bring comfort, encouragement, wisdom, ideas, and love. There might be something that other person needs to hear. But your words should be chosen with care, for once spoken, they cannot be taken back. Tell someone not to think about elephants, and what do they immediately think about? Elephants.That person may not be ready to think about elephants.