The Undiscovered Beauty of Silence

By Tiaan Du Preez

Silence. It has a certain mystery to it. It can take us to places in our mind that we would not normally go. It can make us feel awkward, to the extent that we will say anything to interrupt the silence.

Along with a friend, Paula and I are reading a book called The Good and Beautiful God. One of the chapter’s exercises was to take five minutes during your day to be silent. I have found it harder than I had first anticipated. Doing this exercise these last two weeks, I found my thoughts constantly wanting to interject to free me from this silence, jumping in and taking over.

Last month I attended an online training on “Asking Better Questions.” John, our trainer, mentioned the importance of silence after asking a question. It creates space for that person to process and ponder. But why does silence in a conversation makes us feel so uncomfortable? Our trainer mentioned how silence can confront our need for control. Somehow in the silence, we relinquish control. We are free to just be present.

One morning, while taking an early morning walk, I was prompted to stop and appreciate the sunrise. As I was standing practising being silent for five minutes, I found myself appreciating the moment, appreciating God’s creation … this beautiful sunrise. It was wonderful to just be present.

Thinking back how God came to Elijah:
“After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” – the 1st book of Kings

A gentle whisper. It wasn’t silence, but compared to the earthquake and the fire, the gentle whisper might have sounded very close to silence. It was after the gentle whisper that Elijah responded and went out to meet God.

It makes me wonder, what undiscovered beauty does silence hold?