Category: Deep Thoughts
One of my friends, Colin, wrote a note on facebook, which I found to be very poetic and sad.
Some people seem to have an insatiable need to fill their lives with constant cacophony. Silence is a foreign concept. Whenever silence befalls, the pushing, urgent need to cover it takes over. Silence is to be vanquished, silence equals loneliness, silence is uncomfortable and demands immediate remediation. Perhaps the seeping in of one’s thoughts is a strange sensation which must be resolved. For who knows what demons silence conjures in a silent man’s mind.
But how can one hear oneself when one is always talking? The incessant chatter and pitter-patter of words is a comforting blanket that informs one that one is never alone. However, like a blanket that is used too liberally, it becomes a shroud over one’s intrinsic voice. Silence and solitude are far from markers of loneliness but are the companions of a contemplative mind. It lets one listen to one’s voice and experience the ineffable; that is why no one ever prays by shouting or meditate by screaming. Silence is the domain of those who listen.
and I commented on his note:
For who knows what demons silence conjures in a silent man’s mind. – well said!
When people say “No one understands me, I don’t even understand myself”. They don’t because silence scares them. Without silence, there’s no room for introspection and self-reflection.
I was once that person – afraid of listening to my own voice. I loved going out in big groups, mindless chattering, senseless noises. Whenever it started to be silent, I’ll find someone to accompany me, some noise to fill my head with. I realized later, that it was because I was afraid to listen to my inner voice. Deep down inside, I felt a need to run away from myself instead of facing myself. Occasionally, I faced the mirror and try to see if the physical reflection from the mirror would show some divine reflection of my own soul.
I’m not sure if you, my dear reader, feels the same way… but someone once told me, in order to love yourself, you first have to know yourself. If you can’t even love yourself, then how are others suppose to love you?
I’ve already gone past the phrase when noise was the only way to filter my mind from me, and I truly enjoy silence nowadays. Just lying in bed, with or without some soothing music in the background, I love thinking about the world, philosophy, politics, puzzles, religion and myself. The mind is such a powerful tool, it’s a pity if we just leave it there to rot? 
I’ll leave you with a song I wrote on my 17th birthday…
Like a shadow, I’m haunted by myself
Everyday is a chore, I have to live through
There is no where to hide, no where to run to
I can’t hide from myself, I got to break through…
Haha, emo me.
