teamtickleguy
2nd Level Orange Feather
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2004
- Messages
- 2,495
- Points
- 36
I have just been listening to a programme on Radio 4 about the value of silence and the different forms it takes.
It got me thinking and I'd be interested in everyone else's thoughts and experiences (positive or negative) of silence?
What is your most vivid memory of silence?
Do you actively seek out silence through activities such as yoga, or through visiting remote places?
Is silence something that unsettles you and you therefore try to avoid? ("Hello darkness, my old friend")
Are you of the opinion that silence is just nothingness and therefore of little value?
Do you have experience of silence related to loss of hearing?
I'll share some of my thoughts and experiences alongside some observations from the radio programme:
One analogy I found interesting was that of a footballer having just taken a long-range shot at goal... in that moment after the ball has been kicked, despite the obvious decibel levels of a packed stadium, the footballer is experiencing a brief moment of silence.. waiting and watching to see if the ball will end up in the back of the net.... completely zoned out for the briefest of moments. A different type of silence to what we traditionally perhaps think of as silence, but an analogy that touches on the link between silence and the power of the brain.
Another analogy was that of venturing out in the middle of the night to stargaze at a remote location devoid of noise, but also devoid of visual 'noise', such as street lightning, or smoke from chimneys - the idea that silence can take a visual form as well as an aural form I found quite interesting.
Listening to the radio in itself feels like an act of enjoying silence - unlike with television, when listening to the spoken word on radio, you really do have to sit still and listen - other audible distractions such as the neighbours, or the boiler kicking in are suddenly much more noticeable. You also can't allow yourself to be distracted by phones/internet - as soon as you pick up your phone, or go to post on social media, or get up to boil the kettle, you've lost connection with the radio and with what's being said. Silence in this case is a detachment from the multi-tasking chaos that we tend to default to on a daily basis - you are being silent yourself in every way, even though you are listening to something.
Personally, the most noticeable and memorable silence I've experienced was on a visit to the Krakow Concentration Camps during an orchestra tour to Poland. A bleak silence. The sort of silence you feel you are observing, rather than choosing.
As a musician, I feel the use of silence in music can be also be particularly powerful - either within a piece of music, or the silence in between the moment a piece of music ends and the applause begins. I remember performing a piece by Wagner with a wind band in a final rehearsal for a competition - we'd been working on the piece for weeks and it was unpopular to start with, but it grew on us and everything clicked in this final rehearsal - after the piece finished there was a stunned and telling silence - we all knew that that was probably the best we would ever play it. All of a sudden the doubters were absolutely won over. It was just a silence of mutual appreciation for the fact we'd all just shared something a little bit special. Eventually, the conductor broke the silence and just said "The end" .
In my personal life, I do seek out silence from time to time - the idea of sitting alone at the peak of a hill looking out over a dramatic landscape is something that really appeals to me and when I've been on walking holidays it's noticeable how much less tense I feel when I get to this point - it's partly the fact I feel I've achieved something by walking a long distance uphill and the air is fresher and the view is prettier etc - but also the fact that it's silent. Everything feels less rushed in silence.
Similarly, at work, I often just go and stand in the storeroom or in an empty meeting room - just to appreciate a few moments of silent, clear thought. An escape from the mundane and from the pressure to engage in tedious conversations about the temperature outside and my colleague's supposed bad back.
Meanwhile, silence in libraries is a type of silence that unsettles me (I don't know if libraries worldwide are all silent or if it's just here in UK?).
I just think there should be a designated, enclosed silent area for those wishing to study/read/work in silence - why should a whole building be confined to silence?
Surely this just supresses the chance to engage with people about books?
Exams are always held in silence, for obvious reasons - does it make it any easier to think or come up with the answers? Not sure. Maybe it pressures you to second guess yourself because the silence is so distracting you feel you have to revisit every question until the time is up, because there is nothing else you can do other than sit in silence.
And what about relationships, romantic or family, where a silence can be a telling sign of the state of a relationship? Either it's the wonderful comfort of being able to be silent around each other, or its the loud, unbearable silence where you're both/all thinking "I'm not happy", but instead of breaking that silence with a meaningful chat, you just carry on as normal and break the silence with something like "oooh it's cold", or you make a reference to a past shared memory that was great at the time, but when revisited only serves to highlight the fact that the relationship is no longer as good as it was.
I've probably rambled enough... but I haven't posted for a while, so I'm allowed a few extra words right?!
Cheers,
TTG
It got me thinking and I'd be interested in everyone else's thoughts and experiences (positive or negative) of silence?
What is your most vivid memory of silence?
Do you actively seek out silence through activities such as yoga, or through visiting remote places?
Is silence something that unsettles you and you therefore try to avoid? ("Hello darkness, my old friend")
Are you of the opinion that silence is just nothingness and therefore of little value?
Do you have experience of silence related to loss of hearing?
I'll share some of my thoughts and experiences alongside some observations from the radio programme:
One analogy I found interesting was that of a footballer having just taken a long-range shot at goal... in that moment after the ball has been kicked, despite the obvious decibel levels of a packed stadium, the footballer is experiencing a brief moment of silence.. waiting and watching to see if the ball will end up in the back of the net.... completely zoned out for the briefest of moments. A different type of silence to what we traditionally perhaps think of as silence, but an analogy that touches on the link between silence and the power of the brain.
Another analogy was that of venturing out in the middle of the night to stargaze at a remote location devoid of noise, but also devoid of visual 'noise', such as street lightning, or smoke from chimneys - the idea that silence can take a visual form as well as an aural form I found quite interesting.
Listening to the radio in itself feels like an act of enjoying silence - unlike with television, when listening to the spoken word on radio, you really do have to sit still and listen - other audible distractions such as the neighbours, or the boiler kicking in are suddenly much more noticeable. You also can't allow yourself to be distracted by phones/internet - as soon as you pick up your phone, or go to post on social media, or get up to boil the kettle, you've lost connection with the radio and with what's being said. Silence in this case is a detachment from the multi-tasking chaos that we tend to default to on a daily basis - you are being silent yourself in every way, even though you are listening to something.
Personally, the most noticeable and memorable silence I've experienced was on a visit to the Krakow Concentration Camps during an orchestra tour to Poland. A bleak silence. The sort of silence you feel you are observing, rather than choosing.
As a musician, I feel the use of silence in music can be also be particularly powerful - either within a piece of music, or the silence in between the moment a piece of music ends and the applause begins. I remember performing a piece by Wagner with a wind band in a final rehearsal for a competition - we'd been working on the piece for weeks and it was unpopular to start with, but it grew on us and everything clicked in this final rehearsal - after the piece finished there was a stunned and telling silence - we all knew that that was probably the best we would ever play it. All of a sudden the doubters were absolutely won over. It was just a silence of mutual appreciation for the fact we'd all just shared something a little bit special. Eventually, the conductor broke the silence and just said "The end" .
In my personal life, I do seek out silence from time to time - the idea of sitting alone at the peak of a hill looking out over a dramatic landscape is something that really appeals to me and when I've been on walking holidays it's noticeable how much less tense I feel when I get to this point - it's partly the fact I feel I've achieved something by walking a long distance uphill and the air is fresher and the view is prettier etc - but also the fact that it's silent. Everything feels less rushed in silence.
Similarly, at work, I often just go and stand in the storeroom or in an empty meeting room - just to appreciate a few moments of silent, clear thought. An escape from the mundane and from the pressure to engage in tedious conversations about the temperature outside and my colleague's supposed bad back.
Meanwhile, silence in libraries is a type of silence that unsettles me (I don't know if libraries worldwide are all silent or if it's just here in UK?).
I just think there should be a designated, enclosed silent area for those wishing to study/read/work in silence - why should a whole building be confined to silence?
Surely this just supresses the chance to engage with people about books?
Exams are always held in silence, for obvious reasons - does it make it any easier to think or come up with the answers? Not sure. Maybe it pressures you to second guess yourself because the silence is so distracting you feel you have to revisit every question until the time is up, because there is nothing else you can do other than sit in silence.
And what about relationships, romantic or family, where a silence can be a telling sign of the state of a relationship? Either it's the wonderful comfort of being able to be silent around each other, or its the loud, unbearable silence where you're both/all thinking "I'm not happy", but instead of breaking that silence with a meaningful chat, you just carry on as normal and break the silence with something like "oooh it's cold", or you make a reference to a past shared memory that was great at the time, but when revisited only serves to highlight the fact that the relationship is no longer as good as it was.
I've probably rambled enough... but I haven't posted for a while, so I'm allowed a few extra words right?!
Cheers,
TTG
