Listening to the Silence

I have seen a handful of foreign films in my day. They have a distinctively different feel to them than American films. Obviously, they are in a different language, but even when the actors are not speaking, I can pick up on a different energy.  I attribute this to the broad use of silence in these films. For instance, the audience is watching the character do something mundane, such as sleeping, and there is neither background music nor noise.

That led me to thinking how many times we fill our days with noise. Be it the television, traffic or conversations.  There are times I want to just bask in the glow of silence.

 Then the question arose in my mind—can we really accomplish complete silence?  The times I want to eliminate distractions, I can still hear faint noises. If I’m outside, there are birds chirping, or the rustling of leaves as the breeze blows. If I’m indoors at home, not everyone is like me and turned off the television or not speaking. Nor should they-- it was my conscious decision to try to add some quiet time in my life.  Heck, even as I type on this noise reducing subject, the computer keys are clacking.

Nevertheless, I still work towards keeping the stillness in my mind. During these times, I concentrate on my breathing and slowly, the outside noises are not as distracting.

For me, it is easier to accept that there truly won’t be absolute silence—that can only be obtained by living in a vacuum. Or by being a star in a foreign film.