Creating Silence
Ah, the sound of silence! What lengths we will go to find this elusive treat. We drive for 30 minutes, hike up a trail for another 30 minutes, and only then do we finally sit down to enjoy silence. We act like we could not find it anywhere else. We do not have it in supply in the city, and it is a natural resource found only in the wild. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In our work a day world, we are constantly doing something, going places, or complaining that we are not. We have somehow lost our ability to work in silence. The true shame is that the source of noise is our own prattling and mealy mouthing. We don’t like this, that is too much, it was better then, there is not enough time now….blah, blah, blah.
The work we do everyday does not require a constant narrative. To get through traffic, we just have to drive amongst other cars. How you feel about the other drivers and your overriding sense of self preservation are totally optional. They certainly add a certain “je ne sais quoi,” but it doesn’t really help you steer or maintain a safe braking distance. These are mere associations, they are not the activity itself. The associations are extra, but not required.
The same thing happens when we seek silence. In our rustling through things to find it, we end up stirring up such a thunder storm that we cannot find anything, much less silence. We go to great trouble to make silence. We somehow see silence as a place we have to travel to, or a thing to come into the presence of. Naturally, this is a totally delusional endeavor.
Stop what you are doing and look around. There it is. When you stop making noise, the silence returns. It is the noise that is artificial and fleeting. The noise is what is being made. Silence is a natural state of things. When no noise is made, silence pervades.
The true skill is to walk comfortably among noise and silence. You maintain poise when a thunderstorm of thoughts buffet your mind, and you stand gracefully in the silence of deep engagement. This is real freedom, to become liberated from desires for either state. Only here would either be fine. This inner silence is more than just noise or quiet. With inner silence, neither can disrupt the constant state.