Kat’s contribution to the Quote Challenge this week:
“Experience teaches us that silence terrifies people the most.” ~ Bob Dylan
Kneejerk reaction: “Oooo….Really?”
I love silence. I especially love companionable silence as a group activity. Being able to cozy down in quiet with people, or just a person, that you trust well enough to be able to be silent with is a beautiful thing. It demonstrates that you’re comfortable. You have nothing to prove or justify or do, you can just ‘be’. To me, companionable silence is an indication that walls are down, egos are off, and something close to perfection is being achieved- yes, I love some silence.
I also have no issue with my own silence, especially if something is on my mind. While I usually have music on, I am also perfectly fine rattling around within my own thoughts and not having “background noise.” I can drive without radio or phone to keep my mind busy. I often walk my dog and intentionally leave the phone on silent and the MP3 player on the table and try to listen to the sounds of whatever is going on around me, whether it’s ducks or dogs or the good ol’ boy down the road who only owns Hank Williams Jr’s Greatest Hits and sings along while he plays his 6 string. Maybe that’s not “silence,” exactly, but it’s not an intentional listening, either, with a particular sound in mind. Lao Tzu said “Silence is a source of great strength” and Mother Theresa said “God is the friend of silence” and I think that when it comes to this particular topic, I find myself more inclined to align with them.
I’m not a natural performer. I can force myself to be a performer, of course, but it doesn’t come easy, and part of the required process for me to do that involves an intentional disconnect- I don’t let myself think about what other people think, because if I did, I’d probably not make it through whatever ‘thing’ it was I was doing that was under public scrutiny in the first place. Sooo, unfortunately, Dylan and I aren’t able to reconcile on this one, even though I have spent a good bit of time this week contemplating how to shift my view to accommodate the challenge. I guess that’s half the point, right?
Personally, I can’t wait to see what Kat does with this. I think it’s probably going to be fantastic, since she IS all in the public eye and probably clicks with the point more than I did.
Oh ye of lots of faith. Hope I don’t disappoint.