Silence:

The act of being silent has its place in a number of different situations we might find ourselves in. Nonreaction can give us time to think, process, and create a gap between a stimulus and our response to make sure that we move forward in a deliberate and constructive way.

Silence can also be used as a tool to practice self-control. In social situations where we would normally blurt out a response, interject with our opinion, or interrupt others, the conscious act of being silent can not only strengthen our relationships with other people if we instead choose to listen, but it can also help us think before we speak.

Ultimately, when we interrupt the brains default response, and instead make the decision to sit back and be silent, we can become better at being in the moment, listening, taking in our surroundings, thinking about what we’re doing, and when we do choose to act, it’s aligned with the person we want to be.

Here are a few quotes on silence to help us understand the concept a little better.

Quotes on Silence:

“Let silence be your goal for the most part; say only what is necessary, and be brief about it. On the rare occasions when you’re called upon to speak, then speak, but never about banalities like gladiators, horses, sports, food and drink—common-place stuff…”

– Epictetus

“We have two ears and one mouth, therefore we should listen twice as much as we speak.”
– Zeno

“I’ve begun to realize that you can listen to silence and learn from it. It has a quality and a dimension all its own.”
– Chaim Potok

“It is better either to be silent or to say things of more value than silence. Sooner throw a pearl at Hazard than an idle or useless word; and do not say a little in many words but a great deal in a few.”

– Pythagoras

“Better to trip with the feet than the tongue.”

– Zeno

“Be silent as to services you have rendered, but speak of favors you have received.”

– Epictetus

“Silence is a lesson learned through life’s many sufferings”

– Seneca

“In Silence there is eloquence. Stop weaving and see how the pattern improves.”
– Rumi

“You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;
And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime.
And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.”
– Khalil Gibran

Silence is safer than speech.

– Epictetus

“A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy can live.”

– Bertrand Russell

“The true genius shudders at incompleteness — imperfection — and usually prefers silence to saying the something which is not everything that should be said.”
– Edgar Allan Poe

“In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.”
– Robert Lynd

“Silence is golden when you can’t think of a good answer.”
– Muhammad Ali

“Never miss a good chance to shut up.”
– Will Rogers

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about.”
– Rumi

“Silent solitude makes true speech possible and personal. If I am not in touch with my own belovedness, then I cannot touch the sacredness of others. If I am estranged from myself, I am likewise a stranger to others.”
– Brennan Manning

“Space and silence are two aspects of the same thing. The same no-thing. They are externalization of inner space and inner silence, which is stillness: the infinitely creative womb of all existence.”
– Eckhart Tolle

“Let silence take you to the core of life.”
– Rumi

“Never say anything that doesn’t improve on silence.”
– Richard Yates

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