everyday grace

Silence v. Conversation

I was reading a book on creativity last night and came across a list of opposites to use in a brainstorm. What caught my attention was one of the pairs – silence v. conversation.

If you have been around here for a while you know how I feel about the need for thinking time. I think this pairing is the perfect example of how our society goes at the world. It is either quiet or talking. There is no room for inner anything. I blame this on our addiction to multi-tasking and instant communication (oops, sorry I had to answer an IM from my daughter…yes I am addicted as well!)

I think this one pair really needs to be broken into two:

1. silence v. noise (an external environmental factor)
2. contemplation v. conversation (a dialogue held either with yourself or with someone else.)

Quite frankly I don’t think these pairs are even really related. But I do think that to combine them causes us to move too quickly and without acknowledging what is truly active in our lives.

Just a thought.

If you’re interested in the book, here is a link.

Creative Sparks