Silence and the Presence of Everything ~ On Being with Krista Tippett

“Silence is an endangered species, says Gordon Hempton. He defines real quiet as presence — not an absence of sound, but an absence of noise. The Earth, as he knows it, is a “solar-powered jukebox.” Quiet is a “think tank of the soul.” We take in the world through his ears.”

Gordon Hempton says, “The explanation really goes all the way to silence. When we can speak in silence, you can hear, not just my words, but you can hear my tone, what I mean even beyond the words. In fact, it’s really not the words that are important. It’s the tone. It’s the overall message, the context. When we’re in a noisy place in urban environments, we become isolated, and we exhibit antisocial behavior because we are cut off from a level of intimacy with each other and we’re less in touch. We’re busy not listening to this, not seeing that, not doing that. We aren’t opening up and being where we are.”

“And now I think we’re realizing quiet is important, and we need silence; that silence is not a luxury, but it’s essential. It’s essential to our quality of life and being able just to think straight.”

Silence and the Presence of Everything ~ On Being with Krista Tippett ~ Click HERE to listen to the full episode.

I think it is time to find some silence in my world. How about you?