Table of Contents
Introduction
Humans have the tendency of talking more than they listen (Erbland, 2018). Seemingly, folks have disregarded the art of listening to other people’s viewpoints. As it can be seen, listen and silent are two distinct words with the same letters but different arrangement. They differ in meaning though reflect the same concept. Martin Luther, Jr. for instance, perceived silence from its positive perspective. In one of his quotes, he noted, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.” Whenever people maintain silence, there are chances of greater ideas growing within them (Erbland, 2018). Silence elicits lots of energy and the more people remain silent, the less their conscience is hurt. This paper explores silence as a pattern of socialization.
Silence in Socialization
There are occasions when silence turns out to be the most effective communication method (Jone & Jones, 2018). For instance, an angry facial expression from parents is enough to communicate how agonized and infuriated they are. The non-verbal cue can be so impactful to change a child’s behavior than scolding or harsh reprimand. Silence undeniably requires special kind of authority and power of the mind (Jones & Jones, 2018). Saying nothing is harder than mere expression of anger, love, happiness and betrayal in words. In today’s world, people are surrounded by unwanted noises which pursue them wherever they go. In fact, silence has become a necessity, confined to places like learning institutions and health facilities. Consequently, humans have become accustomed to general noise. No wonder, folks prefer engaging in excessive talk than taking moments of silence to dialogue with their inner selves. Surely, people can listen to silence and most probably learn from it. Silence has quality and dimensions, therefore, none should miss the opportunity to just shut up.
We can do it today.
Silence as a concept surpasses absolute stillness or mere absence of sounds (Erbland, 2018). Silence holds great value. It enhances meditation and promotes concentration in people. Precisely, silence is golden. Whenever silent, folks get the chance to dialogue with their ‘inner’. In other words, silence energizes people to actively engage their minds and act. Thus, associating silence with inactivity and boredom is a misconception. Human beings are innately creative. However, the qualities people possess are often destroyed by some avoidable and unhealthy habits (Erbland, 2018). Take for instance writing an essay while listening to a booming music. Definitely, the writer’s concentration and the quality of work to be accomplished would be affected. In short, creativity requires silence and that is why poets, inventors and other intellectuals prefer absolute silent and quiet environment. Besides, silence offers people the opportunity to listen to others but most importantly, themselves. It enables people to channel their thoughts inwardly thereby live in the present moment, not past or future. Even though many equate deafness to inability, it is in fact a blessing. Deafness never deafens but grants the deaf blissful silence. Even so, the deaf are constantly bewildered by the noise in the world. They regret about their conditions and feel irritated by the meaningless and blaring ‘assaults’.
Conclusion
People either hate or fear silence because of their inability to perceive its ideal nature. The concept is not merely the absence of noises and sounds but a phenomenal natural source of energy. For instance, silence and creativity is one. Actually, it is the wellspring of creativity. Besides, silence enables folks to reconcile with their inner selves. People are able to identify their strengths, acknowledge the limitations, outline their goals and establish the way forward. Most importantly, silence provides rest to the mind, thus preparing people to fearlessly face the battles of life. What is important is determining how individuals can reconcile and establish their relationship with silence.
- Erbland, K. (2018). Oscar-Nominated ‘The Silent Child’ Writer Rachel Shenton on Developing a Complicated Role for a Deaf Child Actor. IndieWire.
- Jones, B., & Jones, B. (2018). When Socialization Shifts From Front Porches To Coffee Shops. The Federalist.