On Being Quiet

You talk to fill the space. You explain, apologise, ask whether you are doing well. I understand why. Silence feels exposed. But it is in the quiet that I can actually see you.

Silence is not doing nothing

When I ask you to be quiet, I am not asking you to disappear. I am asking you to pay attention without decorating it with words. Your stillness tells me more than anything you could say.

Notice the urge to speak

It will come. A small need to check, to reassure yourself, to be noticed. Let it rise and let it pass. That moment of choosing not to speak is the lesson.

Listen properly

Most people listen while waiting for their turn. In silence there is no turn coming. All that is left is what I am saying, and how I am saying it.

Speak when it matters

When you have been quiet, your words weigh more. A single honest sentence after a long silence will reach me in a way a stream of chatter never could.

Tonight, sit for five minutes without a word. Breathe. Wait. Then tell me what you heard.