Silence is Never Silent .......... Strangely, Silence is a powerful weapon of Expression !

Silence is never Silent !! ........ Silence can never be silent !

SILENCE is the most powerful weapon of expression mankind possesses. From love to fury, the most intense and pure emotion is expressed by silence and is spoken in silence. Silence can be awkward. Silence can be comfortable. Silence can be comforting. Silence can be hurtful. Silence can be like a lover’s embrace. And silence can be a bleeding wound. Silence can be truth. And silence can be a lie. Silence can be agreement. Silence can be disagreement. Silence can be many things. But Silence can never be Silent !!

There are many faces of "Silence" that speak volumes about life and relationships!

Arthur Conan Doyle wrote and Sherlock Holmes said to Watson — "You have a grand gift for silence, Watson. It makes you quite invaluable as a companion”.

How accurate. Don’t we all love that friend whose silence speaks volumes to our silence. Somebody we can spend an entire day with, without uttering a single word. Someone with whom silence is not awkward. Such a companion is truly invaluable.

And yet, there are those who speak foolishly, refusing the be silent even for a moment.

"Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact", wrote George Eliot.

Is it not true ? Have we all not met people who we wish would just shut up!!! In the plastic world of socialising, there is great pressure to “talk”. And there are those who just like to “talk”. Content of conversation is of no value ! Such pointless banter is rape of sense and sensibility. There is much wisdom in Silence that understands there is nothing much to speak !! “God is silent. Now if only man would shut up” said Woody Allen.

Yes, undoubtedly, it is “better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt”.

Silence is not always comfortable and beautiful. Sometimes it is an affirmation of a hurtful truth.

Martin Luther King, Jr said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”.

Yes ! Sometimes remaining silent is a sign of apathy and cowardice. Discrimination, injustice, crime exists because a large population conspires to remain silent about things that are of importance. “In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends” wrote Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sometimes, silence pierces the soul like a poison dart ! Hurts and stings ! Bleeds and twists !

George Carlin writes, “There are nights when the wolves are silent, and only the moon howls”. Very true. “Absolute silence leads to sadness. It is the image of death”, says Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

We all have suffered silences that have torn our hearts. We all have suffered grief, that we are forever silent about. We all have suffered the silent arrow that rained blood from our eyes and made us silent forever!

"The cruellest lies are often told in silence" said Robert Louis Stevenson.

A mother asks a soldier returning from the battleground, “Where is my son? Is he alive ?” . The soldier remains silent. His silence brings tears to the mother’s eyes. The hurtful silence conveys the devastating truth !

A girl, after much trepidation, asks her spouse — “Who is she? Are you having an affair? Are we over?”. The guy remains silent. His silence breaks her heart !

A guy asks his girl- “Are you happy with me? Do you still love me ?” . The girl remains silent. Her silence shatters the man.

Pythagoras said, "Be silent, or let thy words be worth more than silence".

People are very careless and casual about their words and behaviour. But our silences are never casual.

“Seeing her sitting there unresponsive makes me realise, that silence has a sound”, said Jodi Picoult in 'My Sister’s Keeper'.

And in the end, everything becomes silent. Death is the ultimate silence.

The grave does not utter a word. Yet it speaks volumes and hides many truths!

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by Neha Bisht / @nehab / https://medium.com/@NehaB16