Tags
comfort zone, comfortable silence, communication skills, emotional storm, extrovert, eye of the storm, falling stars, introspection, introvert, open skies, openness, patterns, Perseids, respite, shooting stars, silence, star gazing, summer is a mistress, summer nights, summertime sadness
For the longest of time, I’ve had no issue with silence. An extrovert by training, it turns out I’ve been so convincing that I’m almost starting to feel like a closeted introvert.
Words matter, but understanding the meaning of a silence is also the sort of communication skill we’d do well to put more effort into honing. Silences carry just as much weight as a carefully chosen phrase, which makes me wonder why we don’t respect them in equal measure.
We fear silences because they force us to leave our carefully curated comfort zones, and be creative in our views of the universe and in our interactions (with others and ourselves). We should leave room for them even when they stir up emotions we’d thought forgotten or when they shed light on sides of our beings we weren’t conscious of.
The incredulous and awe drenched silence after an unexpected moment of closeness – much yearned for, too audacious to hope for, yet materialized. The silence of the darkness at 4:30 AM, right before dawn when only birds and new lovers are awake planning the upcoming day. The silence in the middle of a raging emotional storm, when one seeks respite to let thoughts and feelings settle into recognizable patterns.
The silence of a late August evening – would you spoil that while sitting under the perfectly clear sky, eyes peeled for shooting stars? I should hope not.