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Silence is something we seldom find in contemporary society. We seem to go out of our way to avoid it. Silence makes us feel uncomfortable in conversation. In public spaces there is frequently some form of background music be it in the elevator or supermarket in order to avoid silence. "Let's have a moment of silence." These words are frequently used to honor the dead. There is a certain dignity if not majesty associated with silence. We seem to innately recognize that all experience is ephemeral. Sometimes, during silence, there is no longer a distinction between subject and object. The exact nature of this silence is beyond dualism and, to me, beyond words. Therefore, permit me to use a metaphor: I was walking on the beach and watching the sun come up. The Ropes of Maui* streaked through the orange and violet skies. The gentle waves seem to caress the shore in 5/4 time. I paused to reflect on the majesty of moment. Suddenly I no longer was. I was not me, but at the same time, I was more than I had ever been. All was silent. The silence seemed to hum with a life of it's own and somehow I was connected to it. There was a feeling of unbounded joy. It was if I had discovered something I had always known but to which I had not given words. "Awesome sunrise, huh Dude!" Said a surfer on his way to the waves. The moment vanished. The memory lingers. -Andersen- 30 *An old seafaring term given to the radiating sunbeams from the sun behind the clouds, a condition also known as the "sun drawing water" or the "sun's backstays." |
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