How Much Do We Value Silence?

As we all live in a world of cacophony, HOW often do we see people really cherishing every minute of SILENCE?  This reminds me way back my school days WHY we had those school-managed retreats.  At hindsight, those retreats gave us that very rare opportunity to reflect on the power of SILENCE and the range of responses it elicits from people. YES, some people still value and embrace SILENCE.  How Much Do We Value Silence???

BUT through the years, I did observe that some people seem really uncomfortable at the prospect of a period of SILENCE.  Oooooops, please allow me to qualify that that scenario is very much different from those households WHERE 'some' immediate family members just criss-cross each other, bumping across the staircase and hallways with nary a word.  That's just an outlier.  Otherwise, on reflections at the end of the silent retreat periods, some people do enjoy and cherish that SILENCE💚💛💜

BUT hey, some DON'T!  YES, it is also possible to look forward to a period of SILENCE only to find you CAN'T engage with I have had that experience in the past.  WHAT does this tell us about the functions of SILENCE?  Clearly, there is power in SILENCE.  Think about those raging arguments that get exacerbated with emotions and voices at the top decibels.  During those scenarios, I am cocksure that everyone is [silently] pleading for SILENCE but the problem is, their emotions get to hostage their own selves no end.  In the end, it seems that in our busy, noisy world, still, many people seem to fear SILENCE💥💥💥

If we listen to researches, they are all one in saying that it is fairly clear that too much noise is bad for us.  BUT does that mean that SILENCE is good for us?  Hmmm, well, I guess NOT necessarily as SILENCE is more than just an absence of noise.  However, those researches concluded by suggesting that SILENCE itself is beneficial both physically and psychologically.  Spending time in SILENCE has been proven to have the positive effects on our body in terms of reducing blood pressure, boosting the immune system and even reducing blood cortisol and promoting hormone regulation and somehow, to quote medical jargon, 'prevention of arterial plaque formation'❌❌❌

Our takeaway:  Let's NOT push too hard to end up with up hard knuckles in the midst of arguments.  WHAT really matters here is that WHILE we know that utter SILENCE is just one sheer outlier, we all need it NOT just under very normal day-to-day circumstances BUT especially WHEN we are in the midst of those hit of anger and boiling emotions.  If there is any referee WHO can successfully call a truce, SILENCE can😀😀😀