Silence & Noise

Silence is what we say when we are actually at the end of noise. After all the fracas that noise produces we seek silence in an effort to regain composure, a semblance of peace. But that silence usually ends up as a truce, an interregnum in the unending fallout of noise. Silence at the end of noise is really like a calm after the storm that has left a wreck in its wake.

Silence is an escape from the noisy outburst which leaves us tired and spent. It is a period in which we want to recuperate from the devastating outcome of noise that preceded it. It is a time when we let the noise subside and allow the abrasions to heal. It is actually a shield to protect us from the debilitating effects of noise. It is a lull that comes inevitably after intense activity. A resting period when the nerves cry out loud to let lie dormant. A time of inactivity, of a temporary incapacity. A time to go back into the cocoon, to hibernate, a winter night of rest and recuperation, of conserving available energy.

Silence is the name we give to the absence of noise. It is the silence we experience after the music reaches a crescendo. To produce an enduring effect of the sounds that preceded it. It is the quiet of a night that follows a noisy day.

Silence is considered the opposite of noise. But noise can be made, not silence. Not making noise is not making silence. Being silent is thought to be the same thing as being in silence. Silence is considered the end of noise. Noise is like a wave. The crest and trough are the manifestations of the same thing. Like light, the opposite ends of the spectrum are mere variations of the same thing. Opposites are different aspects of the same thing. Noise and its absence can be created, but not silence. Unlike noise, silence cannot be created, or destroyed. The trough of a wave peaks as a crest which again plummets into a trough. Opposites can only be of the same thing. Noise and silence are as different as the earth and the sky. Incomparable. Opposites can be compared, measured. Noise is measured in decibels or the impact on another thing. Silence is neither measurable nor its impact assessed.

Silence is not something that we can control. It is beyond our reach. You cannot grasp it by any means. You cannot touch it or experience it. It is not a thing nor it is an expression of a thing. It is indescribable, for it has no form, color, weight, depth or any measure that we use to quantify something. Silence and noise are not related. One is not the outcome of the other. They have nothing in common. No thing in common. Noise is born of a thing. Silence is not material. Matter cannot possess it. It is not a quality that can be expressed. It is not an experience that we can share, talk about or debate. It is not pleasant or unpleasant like sound, which can be noise or music. It cannot be enhanced or subdued.

We can only talk about noise, its effect and its rise and demise. It exists in silence, but is not of it. A quiet mind is aware of its romp through noise. It is easy for it to delude itself into thinking that it is in touch with silence. A quiet mind is just a mind at rest, in a limbo, in a state of suspended animation. It is simply not making noise. There is no path from quietness to silence. It has a path only to noise, where it came from. Silence cannot be the goal of a quiet mind. Quietness is the opposite of noise and therefore it is the same thing in reverse. Like the obverse side of a coin. Both sides belong to the same coin. One side is not superior to the other, nor is it unrelated. They are just two aspects of the same thing. So is quiet and noise. Two aspects of the same mind. A silent mind is a contradiction in terms. Mind is conscious of itself only through its noise or the absence of noise. It cannot be not aware of silence, for it is not an experience that can be remembered. It can recall quiet moments, since quietness leaves a trace in the mind, as a period of tranquility after unrest. Silence cannot leave a trace for it is not born of a thing. Only a mind that is completely free of noise can be said to be in silence. All other states of the mind are a delusion or a presence.