Importance of Silence - Introduction- Silence is often underrated and overlooked in our noisy and busy world. Today we become so habitual ...
Importance of Silence -
Introduction- Silence is often underrated and overlooked in our noisy and busy world. Today we become so habitual in noisy environments that many times a day, we hardly get a silent atmosphere, and slowly we are forgetting what silence can do to change our lives. Since morning we are forced to hear the sound of horns, hawkers, or sound of electronic gadgets, loudspeakers, or people talking around at a loud volume, and throughout the day we are enclosed with the same noisy environment and we miss the power of silence. However, silence can benefit our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. In this essay, we will discuss the importance of silence, how it can be cultivated, and the means to avoid noise pollution.
Benefits of Silence -Silence is important for many reasons. First, silence can create space for us to relax, heal, and reflect. According to Jason Ong, “The importance of silence in life is that it brings us some downtime which can be used to relax, self-reflect, and make time to enjoy the moment. This in turn makes us more aware of ourselves and generally happier as we become more appreciative in life.” Silence can also help us find meaning and purpose in our lives by allowing us to connect with our inner voice and intuition.
Second, silence can improve our cognitive function and creativity. Research has shown that silence can enhance memory, attention, learning, and problem-solving. This is because silence reduces sensory input and gives the brain a chance to rest and replenish its resources. Silence can also stimulate the imagination and foster new ideas by activating multiple parts of the brain.
Third, silence can aid in relaxation and stress reduction.
Silence can lower blood pressure, heart rate, cortisol levels, and inflammation. Silence can also calm the nervous system and reduce anxiety and depression. Silence can also promote mindfulness, which is the awareness and acceptance of the present moment.
Mindfulness can help us cope with negative emotions and enhance our well-being.
How can we cultivate silence in our lives?
There are many ways to practice silence, depending on our preferences and circumstances. Some examples are:
- Meditating or praying in a quiet place for a few minutes every day.
- Taking a walk in nature or a park and listening to the sounds of birds, wind, and water.
- Reading a book or listening to soothing music with headphones on.
- Turning off the TV, phone, and other devices for a while and enjoying the stillness.
- Joining a silent retreat or a group that practices silence regularly.
- If daily practice is made to sit quietly in a nearby park and feel the silence for a while could aware us of how it is important and what exactly we miss.
How can we avoid noise pollution?
Some ways to avoid noise pollution are:
- Wearing earplugs or noise-canceling headphones when exposed to loud noises.
- Choosing a quiet place to live or work.
- Planting trees or installing soundproof windows to reduce outside noise. Research says that along with controlling air, water, and soil pollution, trees can absorb sound pollution from the atmosphere. Big cities or metro cities have more population but on the contrary, they have fewer greeneries. We need to plant more trees, construct small gardens, and small home gardens wherever possible in the big cities.
- Complaining to the authorities or taking legal action if the noise level exceeds the permissible limit.
- Educating ourselves and others about the effects of noise pollution and how to prevent it.
- At public places such as airports, railway stations, restaurants, and hospitals, silent zones are made, but still, people ignore them and do not follow the rules and regulations of the silent zones. We need to follow it to make such areas actually silent. However it is commonly observed that people will speak loudly among themselves or on their cell phones creating noise pollution. It is the most irritating experience that on a plane or on a railway, the person sitting beside you speaks loudly for a longer time.
- In the crowded market, or on the highways, people use pressure horns unnecessarily causing huge noise pollution that sometimes becomes unbearable.
Conclusion -In conclusion, silence is a valuable and powerful resource that can benefit us in many ways. Silence can create space for us to relax, heal, and reflect. Silence can improve our cognitive function and creativity. Silence can aid in relaxation and stress reduction. We can cultivate silence by meditating, walking in nature, reading, turning off devices, or joining a silent group. We can avoid noise pollution by wearing earplugs, choosing a quiet place, planting trees, complaining, or educating. By embracing silence, we can enhance our health, happiness, and harmony.
As per medical science, the human ear can hear sound whose frequency lies between 20 Hz. to 20,000 Hz. Sound below 20 Hz. the human ear is unable to hear and sound more than 20,000Hz. frequency, if we hear, we would go deaf. So, the frequency of the sound in our atmosphere must lie in between this permissible zone, but many times we face situations out of this zone.
Silence does not only give us numerous health and mental benefits, but also it is very important to focus on our jobs. Students can not grasp the complicated concepts of their studies in a noisy environment, and the teacher can not concentrate on his lecture if the classroom is not completely silent, because silence brings concentration, enhances our logical thinking, and intellect, and many more benefits.
The greatest freedom fighter of India, Mahatma Gandhi, had a practice of, " Maun Vrita", that is to remain completely silent once a week, he used to answer anybody's question by writing on a piece of paper, and when asked, to reply, he said," This is the way to self-examine me whether I am going on a right path or not, and by this practice, I can understand myself in a better way. At the same, this practice is the method to restore or conserve the energy of the body, because as per medical science to utter a single word from our mouth, our many body organ collectively works and needs more energy. It can be better understood from one example, in some research study seminar a question was asked, "Who needs more calory or energy, a teacher or a farmer'? Many replied that a farmer does a hard laborious job in his field as compared to the teacher who just speaks for some hours in a classroom that to under the shade, and surprisingly it was proven wrong because the energy required to speak is greater than the energy required to work.
The moral is that if we are not speaking, we are actually saving our crucial energy, so we too can make a practice of remaining silent for some time in a day, a week, or a month. At the same time by doing so, we will contribute to some extent to create a silent environment.
So, silence could be energy, power, magic, or maybe a divine entity, yes indeed it is! Just feel it and give it a try!
Here, I am tempted to give the beautiful poem, Keeping Quiet, by Pablo Neruda, and how beautifully he glorified the concept of silence and its importance, and what change it could bring in our stressful and hurried lifestyle.
Keeping Quiet - Pablo Neruda
The Poem-
Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still.
For once on the face of the Earth
let's not speak in any language,
let's stop for one second,
and not move our arms so much.
It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines,
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.
Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands.
Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victory with no survivors.
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their
brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.
What I want should not be
confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.
If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and threatening ourselves with
death.
Perhaps the Earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.
Now I'll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think, words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far. --------------- Swami Vivekananda
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