Comfort in Silence 10/18/07

Comfort in Silence

Some people are uncomfortable in silence. The indeterminate amount of time passing, with no sound to mark it, bothers them. The quiet reminds them of their solitude. They need words to fill the space. They talk of nothing, so they don't have to think about everything.

I find solace in the silence. It reminds me of the times I've spent with loved ones and no words were needed. It reminds me of whittling. For those that are unfamilar with the term, to "whittle" is a southern thing.

Most of my family is southern. My great grandfather would sit with me under a HUGE oak tree in front of his store - he owned a tiny combination grocery store and luncheonette out in the middle of the country. When I say 'out in the middle of the country" I mean, MILES...and MILES from anywhere. If ten cars came through, THAT was a busy day.

My great grandfather would sit out under the oak tree..on a bench that he had built. He would sit there for hours, carving(whittling) with an old knife on a piece of wood he had picked up(usually that morning). He would carve on it all day long and whatever shape it turned out to be at the end of the day, is the shape it would remain in for the rest of it's existence.

He hardly ever spoke. I believe I heard ten words from him the whole time I knew him. He could convey more with one look, than most people said in ten sentences full of words. When we would go to visit, he almost always motioned me over to sit next to him while he carved.

He taught me that silence really is golden and that the sound of the leaves blowing in the breeze and the noise that a knife makes as it carves away a piece of wood from a branch, is sometimes all the conversation that is needed.