Learn to Practice Silence
Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the Gods.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Have you heard the old adage ‘speech is silver and silence is gold’?
Here’s a very difficult exercise – keeping quiet! Set your timer and decide not
to speak even one word during the next one hour. You will realise how difficult
is this ‘easy’ exercise.
The ability to speak is a unique
gift, which only human beings have which distinguishes us from other living
things. But it is also the most misused and over used skill. When you practice
silence, you will notice that it substantially enhances your focus and energy.
You may question how your energy and speaking are connected to each other, but
it is true. In addition, this ‘self-imposed silent hour’ will also give you the
gift of ‘thinking time’.
A journalist friend of mine
maintains complete silence every Wednesday and he says that it is his ‘writing
day’.
There is another context, where
you can practice silence, that is, when others speak. Some people cannot wait
for others to complete their communication and will interrupt. From today
notice if you also belong to this ‘club’!
From my book '365 Exciting Ways to Live'
N C Sridharan
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