The Lost Art of Silence

The pursuit of silence can force you to confront yourself, which is why many people do everything they can to try and avoid it-often filling their world with vacuous sound. But it can also be transformative. Ultimately, embracing quiet-in contemplation, meditation, in nature, or even by examining certain kinds of media-is necessary for personal and societal growth because it invites us to widen our perspective and become better listeners, and it makes room for a more compassionate approach to the world. Though our lives are bookmarked in silence-coming from an insulated womb, and going to another stillness in death-during our lifetime, we compete with exterior noise and a near-constant interior dialogue that judges, analyzes, compares, and questions. But, if we can get past this barrage, there lies a quiet place well worth the search. This book encourages people to embrace this search, shedding light on silence through the lenses of topics including: spirituality, nature, lived experiences, the arts, darker sides of quiet, and ways forward. Throughout, the author shares her own personal relationship and experiences with silence as well as perspectives from a diverse array of cultural figures like musicians, meditators, writers, and artists whose work emanates a profound feeling of quiet.