Many a things have been said and written about the beauty of silence. We have often heard and read famous quotes like “Silence is golden” or “Silence is the best reply to a fool”. It is often touted as the quality of an intelligent and mature person, a person who has mastered his mind and his emotions. But it is high time that we recognize and generate awareness of how silence at times and in certain situations can both harmful and dangerous. While silence can be serene and powerful if used correctly, it can in many cases become the reason for one’s own unhappiness.
Silence is quite a paradoxical concept in itself. Some silences are good, some bad and some might I add, quite unforgivable. The silence help connect us to the nature; helping us to look within ourselves. It helps us connect with our spiritual self and remains the most beautiful thing to be experienced almost making it poetic. Another kind of silence is when we prefer to not indulge in an argument. A silence we adhere to as the words we speak will have no value or positive effect. Then comes the one when we do ourselves or others great injustice by simply not speaking up.
When we see our- selves being wronged or those around us getting harmed in any way and choose to keep quiet is when our silence turns toxic. Instead of bringing peace and tranquility, this silence brings hurt, trauma and a deep sense of despair. It is important for us to realize and distinguish between our silences. For every silence we keep when we are being wronged, bullied or dehumanized to simply keep peace, we do ourselves an injustice and owe our own self a huge apology. Every time we preferred to stay silent when our words could’ve healed another or brought some comfort to them we have inflicted a wound upon our soul simply to avoid the wrath of those who seemed more powerful; giving them consent.
Martin Luther king, who was the most visible spokesperson & leader of the civil rights movement in America had once said “ In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.”
Plato said “Silence gives consent”. When we use our silence to ignore the wrong doings of others we automatically have chosen the side of the oppressor. Like brilliantly put by Jean Paul Satre “Every word has consequences, every silence too”. May we all have the courage and the wisdom to choose our silence for the better. A silence that brings calm and tranquility as opposed to the silence of indifference, because some silences become deafening if used for too long.
TANYA CHOPRA
