Where Has All the Silence Gone

Silence doesn’t have to be standing at the rim of the Snake River Canyon in the warm afternoon sun; silence is as close as the moment between the in-breath and the out-breath. Our lives are drowning in internal and external noise without making room for silence.

Entire days can pass without a single moment of silence.

The mind constantly runs a play-by-play on our fears and desires like a 24-hour newscast that refuses to shut off.

The anxious and critical voices we use to speak to ourselves fill the silence we crave.

The paradox is silence can be scary. When first encountered, quietness is a mirror we avoid because it reflects too much, and we fear losing part of ourselves.

When we embrace silence—whether in a canyon or in the stillness between breaths—it pulls us into the present, urging us to observe what’s around us.

Out of silence springs creativity—the kind that sneaks up on you when the noise finally fades.

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