When Silence Is Beneficial

“I have naturally formed the habit of restraining my thoughts.  A thoughtless word hardly ever escaped my tongue or pen.  Experience has taught me that silence is part of the spiritual discipline of a votary of truth.  We find so many people impatient to talk.  All this talking can hardly be said to be of any benefit to the world. It is so much waste of time.  My shyness has been in reality my shield and buckler.  It has allowed me to grow.  It has helped me in my discernment of truth.” 

-Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

The world can be loud and over stimulating at times. With televisions blaring, iPods singing in our ears, phones alerting us incessantly and other constant bombardments into our personal space, it is common place to assume silence may not be necessary.  In fact, silence may appear to some as a sign of something negative.

However, there is great power when each of us is able to become comfortable with silence from time to time. Whether it is finding a few moments to yourself in the middle of the day, or unwinding in a quiet bedroom with a book at night, silence can be quite restorative.

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