Quiet

I have grown accustomed to silence. My silence is strategic, reflective and beautiful. For example, I’ve made a few social media exits since my late adopter years. I noticed a lot of acquaintances were very vocal about leaving Facebook. Of course they all came back - with a fury. Strategic silence allows you to solve issues in private. Once you are ready to be vocal again, you can.

The same strategy works for Facebook Groups and other group chat applications. I can’t tell you how often I felt like turning into a “digital hurricane” and exploding with anger online. Strategic silence helped me gather my thoughts, find wisdom and proceed as a better person.

Reflection guarantees that my silence is productive. The goal is to grow, not to use silence as a weapon. Reflective silence is the opposite of “the silent treatment.” During the silent treatment, one tries to gain attention in a dispute (that’s called manipulation). Reflective silence allows us to have time to look for root causes. It allows different perspectives to arise. The goal is growth.

During a time of reflective silence, I realized that I could do absolutely nothing about the culture of a group I belong to. Reflection allowed me to accept this fact. Wisdom taught me that there will be a time when I will look back at this entire situation. I hope that I will not have any regrets about my silent actions. Reflective silence requires a clean heart. If you can get there, you will have what really matters.

Silence is a great way to allow beauty to shine. I read a quote said “To be quiet is to be beautiful. Flowers do not make noise.” I know this is counter-intuitive. I know there is an entire system that pushes us to be the loudest ones in the room. I have always had the proclivity to do the opposite. It is true that “the loudest one in the room is the weakest one in the room.” This has nothing to do with personality my friend. The beauty of silence comes from a heart that is secure in who God made them to be.

Do you need some time to be silent? Make sure it is strategic, reflective and it will be beautiful.