The Sound of Silence

In a culture full of noise, what if the answer isn’t to yell louder—but to become more comfortable with our own silence?

A serene night scene with a solitary mountain reflected in the still waters of a tranquil lake under a starry sky.

“The less you know, the more you say.”*

Common psychiatry maxim, quoted by Dr. Judson Brewer in Unwinding Anxiety

There’s a lot of noise out there. We know this. But the real tension begins when we try to figure out what to do about it.

Older generations complain, “Kids these days are always on their phones,” while younger ones shoot back, “Touch grass, Boomer.”

Both sides make good points. And both sides are also… adding to the noise.

Both sides against the middle.

How funny is that?

What if the answer isn’t found in proving who’s right, but in becoming more comfortable with saying less?

Have you ever tried to sit in silence? To quiet your monkey brain.

It’s hard. That’s why I started practicing meditation in an effort to get more grounded. I’ve spent years building the kind of quiet I can access now—and even still, it’s not the deep, middle-of-the-night silence I hope to reach one day.

But what if this silence is the answer?

What if the healing of our loud culture starts when we stop fighting for a side, and meet each other in the middle?

What if we simply noticed? Without judgment, anxiety, or the need to respond.

And only then—then—moved outward into the world with a little more clarity and a lot more compassion.

That’s what came to me this morning.

Not while scrolling.

Not while arguing.

But while sitting in silence.