06/01/2019

Day 241

Time to put on the thinking cap and join in the Saturday ritual that is Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS) brought to you by the lovely Linda Hill. The challenge this week is:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “silent/silence.” Use one or both in your post. Have fun!

So many things ran through my mind when I saw the prompt on Friday. The first thing was Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Sounds of Silence’ but I immediately thought others might find that an interesting topic. So I forged onward. My mind then ran to the word silence being used with negative connotations — an effort to shut people up. None of this was inspiring me so I just thought about the word a little more.

I might be the only person in my family that appreciates silence when sleeping. No fans, no white noise, no tv. My brain appreciates the rest from the chatter of the day. In the quiet hours, I find myself. I turn inward and think and through this meditative act, I have found peace.

I love music and people and conversation and television with the best of people, but I need my quiet time.

I grew up in a very small community with a small cemetery. It is a quiet and peaceful place. My paternal great-grandmother, my paternal grandparents, my parents, and my sisters are all buried there. It is the most beautiful place when you just want to be silent. Some people find cemeteries morbid, but I feel like the silence in a place like that gives me an opportunity to think. I suppose there was a time visiting this place made me sad, but through healing, I find it comforting now.

I often fall silent even in large crowds. Perhaps I am an introvert or overly shy. I am not an elegant conversationalist. I am an observer for sure and even with background noise, I can find silence. Sometimes I need to be snapped out of it.

The early morning here does not afford much silence. The birds start their serenade even before daybreak. Nighttime is a better option if you want to find some silence. At least before the katydids arrive with their constant chirping. I love to look at the stars and take it all in. I think how silent space must be and it gives me chills. That might be a little too much silence even for me.

I have come to really look forward to my Saturday blog because of Linda’s challenge. It’s nice to shoot from the hip occasionally. If you would like to join in, head over to Linda’s blog for all the rules and delight in how many takes there are on one single word or phrase. You will be glad you did!