Silence / Stilte

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“Silence (the treasure of the humble) is the element in which great things fashion themselves.”

Maurice Maeterlinck

The most moving moments of our lives usually find us all without words, in a place where silence reigns supreme. My question, how long before silence pass into legend, because it seems as if humanity has turned its back on silence. Machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life (contemplation and meditation) are all around us. Noise bolsters people’s egos, while their inhuman void spreads like dying vegetation. In today’s age, people struggle to become silent within themselves… They talk too much, but few fully realize that underneath all that talking, there lies a silence that is far better, for silence is as deep as Eternity while speech is as shallow as Time. It is true that it takes more time, more effort and more delicacy to learn the silence of people than to learn its sounds. Learning the grammar of silence is an art that is much more difficult than the grammar of sounds. Do you make the effort to take five minutes a day to practice to be silent? It is my wish that you do that and that you will find afresh your direction in the confines of silence.

No workman steel, no ponderous axes rung;
Like some tall palm, the mystic fabric sprung.
Majestic silence!

Reginald Heber

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“Stilte (die skatkis van die nederige) is die element waarbinne groot dinge hulself vorm.”

Maurice Maeterlinck

Ons ontdek die mees roerende oomblikke van ons lewens gewoonlik wanneer ons geen woorde het nie, gewoonlik in tye waar stilte koning kraai. Ek wonder net hoe lank dit nog gaan neem alvorens stilte gaan wegkwyn en deel gaan word van ‘n legend, want, dit wil voorkom of die mensdom hul rug op stilte gedraai het. Waarom sê ek dit?  Ek dink dat die toestelle waarmee mense so behep geraak het, geraas aanhelp, en dat dit mense se aandag aftrek van die essensie van die lewe (oorpeinsing & meditasie). Lawaai gee mense se egos ‘n hupstootjie, en dit is dalk waarom mense sukkel om stil te raak. Dalk is dit ook omdat mense, in oomblikke van stilte, met hul innerlike self gekonfronteer word, en dalk nie weet hoe om dit te hanteer nie. Die dat mense so daarvan hou om baie te praat en lawaai te maak, en sodoende die stilte uit te doof. Wat meeste dalk nie weet nie, is dat daar onder al hierdie lawaai ‘n stilte lê wat veel beter as geraas is. Stilte is so diep soos die ewigheid self, lawaai is so oppervlakkig soos die mens self. Dit is ook so dat dit meer tyd, meer moeite en meer delikaatheid neem om te leer om stil te raak, as wat dit is om die geraas van die mensdom aan te leer. Ja, dit is ‘n kuns om die grammatika van stilte te bemeester, veel moeiliker as wat dit is om die grammatika van geraas te bemeester. Sê my, maak jy tyd in jou dag om stil te wees, al is dit net vir ‘n paar minute? Ek hoop van harte dat jy ‘n tydjie (of meer) hiervoor sal inruim, waar jy net in stilte weer jouself kan vind, daardie self wie so maklik deur geraas gefragmenteerd kan raak.

Is geraas jou baas?
Is jy min getraak as dit kom by stil raak?

Miskien moet jy stilte ‘n heroorweging gee.

Miskien moet jy prober om hierdie ruimte te betree.