One cannot underestimate the importance of silence in our daily lives. Silence can have an intense impact with the way we think and the way we act. Very often, from the instant we open our eyes, we are beat-up by the sound of honking cars, crying babies, children shouting, or even the sound of the train. We rarely take a break to think, to reflect and to introspect. And to do that, there is a demand for silence. 

Silence has become an alien in our lives and we always prefer to avoid it. That’s why there’s such a thing called as awkward silence. We always take it for granted and we often forget how precious it is that in the midst of the world’s clutter and noise, we often forget we need it. 

Silence, according to the dictionary, is the absence of vibrations and soundwaves. But, is that it? What is it, really? What’s with silence that we often fight off and stay away from?

When you’re watching a basketball game and everyone holds their breath as the player tries to shoot the ball into the ring for a split second;

When you listen to an amazing new band, not noticing you finished the whole album while you just laid in your bed thinking and staring at the ceiling;

When you see your crush walking towards to your direction and how everything behind him blurs as you imagine he’s being surrounded by butterflies as he walks;

When you see a random quote and you feel a smile spreading on your lips because it reminds you of someone;

When you’re done explaining yourself after the argument but you don’t hear him explain his side;

When everyone is quiet inside the elevator.

Even though these kinds of silences are unnoticeable, they are often complicated and overpowering. These quiet pauses that we often neglect, we don’t realize that they make up the bigger moments of our lives. It’s like a comma that connects clauses, an adhesive that keeps the bandaid from falling or the ring that binds the clear books we use to compile our papers. 

Silence is so powerful it can say many things. It can be a kind of treatment or an answer to a yes or no question. 

Sometimes I wonder if I can enclose silence in a little box and carry it around with me. When everything gets too draining or baffling, I will unlock it and put myself in. We all need that pause and that hushed moment. And after a while, I can feel revived and reawakened, like that second after I click the refresh button of my internet browser.