Silence

Silence is a precious commodity. Silence is precious because it's scare. It's rare. In our society today there is so much noise pushing in on us from every direction. There is noise from media, entertainment, social networking, wireless communication, jobs, families, civic responsibilities. The list is endless. It's possible in today's world to go through life without a moment of silence, but what does the loss of silence mean? What does it do to us as individuals and as a society?

The loss of silence means constant distraction. Our attention is divided among so many competing interests that nothing ever gets the whole of our attention. Distractions divide us and keep us from putting our full strength and effort behind important tasks, projects, or issues. Not only does the distraction resulting from a lack of silence keep us from a high level of functional performance, it impairs our relationships as well, distracting and dividing us, producing ever shallower relationships.

A society steeped in noise is a society with a short memory. There's no opportunity for reflection or to dwell on the lessons of the past. If societies don't remember themselves and their place in the course of history, they can't chart a future course. Societies that don't occasionally take time to reflect in silence forget their past failures and successes. They can no longer remember the lessons learned from failures, or rally around past successes.

Silence is rare. It is scarce. Yet no place is better for being reminded of the past, learning from our failures as individuals and societies, focusing on the important things and people in life, and being refreshed and renewed. It's worth finding 15 minutes of silence each day.