Is it true silence is golden? Not everyone feels that way. I enjoy quiet, due to my personality. But silence goes a step further. After a conversation with my grandkids, I started wondering about silence.
- Is silence to the soul what sleep is to the body?
- Is silence something people are afraid of?
- Is silence something we need?
What is the truth about silence and our relationship to it?
What is the truth about silence and our relationship to it? Click To Tweet
OUTER NOISE
ADD and ADHD aren’t just conditions. We live in an attention deficit culture. There are constant noises and distractions around us everywhere. The thought of silence feels foreign.
For example, the day I picked up two of my grandchildren from elementary school and we had that conversation I mentioned.
After we got to my house one commented “it’s so quiet” and the other one echoed in agreement.
I’m used to my house being quiet, so I wondered, Were they uncomfortable? Did it feel silent to them? Is this a problem? I mentioned how I could hear the air conditioner running (pointing to noise). They repeated, “it’s so quiet”.
I elaborated on how we’d gotten a new one and even though it was so much quieter than the old one, there was still noise. It wasn’t silent.
Still, they felt it was too quiet. They’re used to more outer noise in their life than I am.
Our conversation moved on to other things, but the questions played in the back of my mind.
Silence is a strange idea when you’re accustomed to outer noise.
Silence is a strange idea when you’re accustomed to outer noise. Click To Tweet
INNER NOISE
Our minds are busy places.
Our to-do lists are long. Our goals are lofty. Our culture is highly competitive.
There are deadlines to meet. We’re constantly thinking about the people we love, the places we have to go and things we want to do.
There’s a lot of inner noise.
This is where I thought silence was needed. To quiet all that inner noise.
The truth is, that silence, can’t give us what we need.
The truth is, that silence, can’t give us what we need. Click To Tweet
SILENCE OR NOISE?
To help me find the truth, I asked a group of people if they preferred silence or noise, and why. The answers weren’t at all what I expected.
The results were split into three categories: silence, noise and both.
But even in those three, the category of both rose up like an ice cube floats to the surface in a glass of water.
Both. Do we need both?
And then something else stood out…
I did further study, and the truth is, silence doesn’t exist. Pure absolute silence doesn’t exist in physics.
The closest thing to silence can be found in a room Microsoft spent $1.5 million dollars to build called the anechoic chamber. But in this room, the lack of outer noise augments inner noise.
For example, heartbeat, breathing, and the sound of moving joints (neck, arms, legs). This augmented inner noise is the reason no one lasts longer than forty-five minutes in the chamber! Some people leave immediately.
Noise is inescapable and we need it. We can only control what kind, and how much.
Apart from noise, we suffer sensory deprivation.
Apart from noise, we suffer sensory deprivation. Click To Tweet
WHAT WE NEED
The floating ice cube of both, silence and noise, is almost correct.
What we need is a balance of sound and quiet, just like the people I asked alluded to in their elaborations of why. See their answers and remember the anechoic chamber. (Emphasis mine)
- It depends on what I’m doing, how I’m feeling, my mood.
- I need it kind of quiet.
- Silence, because it can be filled, noise has no place for anything. With silence you have the option to BE as you like, find peace how you like.
- Silence stresses me out. I’m on edge wondering what will “break the silence”. It’s hard to have pure silence. There is usually very subtle background noise coming from somewhere.
- Noise can be stressful. Silence is peaceful.
- Silence is deafening. Noise covers the noise in my head. All those illogical, unnecessary worries, they get unbearably loud.
- A balance of both. All noise all the time would drive me crazy. All silence would as well.
- Depends on the situation. Silence feels lonely when I am at home. However, if I’m trying to concentrate (example: Work or a challenging driving situation) the bandwidth noise takes on my brain compromises my ability to perform. Also, there is nothing more calming than well-placed silence to dive into my thoughts, the work – intentionally placed silence.
- I need both. At the end of the day is when I most appreciate the silence.
- Both actually. There are time I just want to sit in silence, then there are times I just want to silence the noise in my head so outside noise is necessary.
- Noise of any kind, becomes very overwhelming to me. I can feel it in all of my nerve endings and it feels like my brain is on overload.
- It depends on my state of mind. Sometimes I need noise or music, some days I need the peace of silence.
- Silence, it sharpens my focus to get into deep thinking. Any little distraction will skew my inner chi.
- Both, depending on where I am and what I am doing. I really need silence when I’m working in order to focus. I don’t like complete silence at home, though. I need music or TV pretty much all the time unless I am sleeping. In the car I need music, loud. Out in nature I want total silence – nothing more beautiful than that.
- It is nearly impossible to ever experience true silence. Even when the TV is off, the furnace is making noise.
- Life is so loud. Silence is hard to come by.
- I’d settle for quieter.
- Both are nice.
- I like my quiet times, but also enjoy noise. Silence all the time causes my mind to go to dark places, and those can be scary.
- I cannot function without background noise radio or television no matter what I’m doing.
- I like stillness.
- The noise of my kids laughing. Sounds of nature.
- Silence when I pray so I can concentrate on my conversation with God. Noise when I’m sad so I don’t feel so alone!
- Best is a room full of people with many conversation going at once. If I’m alone, deafeningly loud music. Silence = thinking. Thinking takes me to too many places I don’t want to be.
- Silence so I can hear myself think. Sometimes plug into rustling leaves on YouTube. Noisy noise makes it hard for me to get my thoughts organized. I love the joyful noise of the grandkids.
- It’s rare to have silence. When we were in the painted desert the silence was almost deafening. Kind of creepy.
- Soft jazz.
- Peaceful breaking of dawn.
Silence is golden is just an expression. There’s no truth in it.
We all need differing amounts of quiet and sound.
We all need differing amounts of quiet and sound. Click To Tweet
WHAT NEXT
What do you think? Leave me a comment and then share this.
- If you’re in need of finding your quiet place – go here
- If you need some music to fill your “silence” – go here
- If you’re feeling blue – go here
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This was great! I loved how you showed everyone’s perspectives, it was cool to see. For me, I have a hard time shutting off my inner thoughts, then I pray and any worry quickly fades away…I truly enjoy each and every one of your posts Danielle, they’re my bright spot in my week.
Thank you so much, KD!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun gathering everyone’s perspective and enjoyed doing the research.
Thanks for reading, enjoying and sharing your thoughts. I appreciate you and the joy you spread.
For me, it’s not about the absence/presence of noise or the amount of one or the other but the KIND of noise that makes a difference. (A couple of people mentioned kinds of “noise” they like, as opposed to the existence of noise in general.) I like worship music at a very low volume continuously in my background. I don’t like yappy dogs or parakeets at any volume. In general I want more silence. Happy voices, classical music, praise music–if they aren’t all guitar and twangy–are good. Loud, angry, discordant voices, noises of pain, profanity, machinery, sharp, grating sounds are bad. Rather than choosing noise or silence or even choosing “both,” I would be picky about the kind of noise. In fact, if it can only be classified as noise, not music or soothing sounds (the ocean, breeze in the trees) or meaningful conversations, have a problem with it. The content of the noise matters a lot to me. TV voices when I’m not watching the program, commercials, complaining, accusations, noise children make for its own sake–lots and lots of (unnecessary) noise bothers me. I’m getting more sensitive as I age. (75 next month.)
I don’t think you’re alone in your sound choices. Many of the sounds you point out that you don’t like, I find irritating also. I’m quite picky about what I listen to myself. In fact, when my husband and I watch television and the drug commercials come on, we mute them. I call them legalized drug pushers lol.
In my research, I came across examples of various “color” sounds – white, grey, green, red and blue. I didn’t know there were that many colors of sound. I found them all irritating and what you would call just plain ‘noise’. I prefer nature sounds for “white noise”.
Thanks for sharing Jessica and happy birthday a little early!