Creating Some Noise on Behalf of Silence

How do you write about the value of silence?

It’s kind of absurd when you think about it. Do you use words to extol the value of something whose essence is the very absence of words?

It’s like making a painting of the invisible. Do you use visible means to depict something that exists outside of the visible?

Nonetheless, here I am with this blog post.

Via a recommendation from my wife, I recently finished reading “The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit” by Michael Finkel. It’s about Chris Knight, a man who chose to disappear into the woods in Maine and live alone with no human contact for almost three decades.

Reading the book, you realize, “Damn, this guy led a life that was the very antithesis of our world of hyper-stimulation.”

When the author asked him to describe his experience of solitary quietude, the best Knight could do is declare that words failed him. “Silence does not translate to words” he said.

As the author points out, Knight’s observations are inline with other writings praising the value of silence. Emerson said, “He that thinks most, will say least.” The Tao Te Ching states, “Those who know do not tell; those who tell do not know.”

Anyhow, it’s a good, short read. Now I’m left with the impression that perhaps we could all use a little more silence…[as I generate some more noise in the world with this blog post to say that]