12 Comments
User's avatar
Capry Cains's avatar

Beautifully written.

Thank you 😊

The Quiet One's avatar

Thank you, sending love 🧡

David McKenzie Fox's avatar

I can see how this works on a personal level. But sometimes silence is dangerous. It's dangerous when we watch innocemt people being kidnapped from their homes by government sanctioned thugs, when we see children slaughtered in school (in any part of the world), or the oppression of minority groups for the sake of fear mongering. When it's systemic injustice - that's not the time to remain silent.

In case there are people who think I'm being political, I'm not. I'm being observant, concerned for my fellow humans, empathetic and compassionate in my response.

That's not political.

It's grace in action.

The Quiet One's avatar

Thank you for raising this.

I agree that silence in the face of injustice is something very different.

This piece was about the quieter moments in personal relationships, where stepping back can sometimes create more clarity than intervening.

But you’re right that there are times in the world when silence is not care, but absence.

I appreciate you bringing that distinction into the conversation.

From Tender Ground's avatar

Great read , thank you 🧡

David W Runyan II's avatar

Sound advice, seasoned and mature, presence over interference, succinctly presented principles.

The Quiet One's avatar

Thank you.

Presence over interference has become a quiet guide for me.

David W Runyan II's avatar

your quietude is rather attractive

Jay's avatar

Here is a key to knowing oneself, the real deeper self, the higher self that does the learning and the remembering. This: "now I see it sooner. And I return to myself more quickly." is a quantum leap forward. Thank you for sharing this. It screams to me of exponential growth.

The Quiet One's avatar

Thank you for seeing that. It didn’t feel like a quantum leap when it happened, more like a quiet shift in how quickly I notice myself leaving. Returning sooner has changed more than anything dramatic ever did. I’m grateful it spoke to you.

Alexandra Pasareanu's avatar

This felt very familiar to read. I’ve had moments where I suddenly realised how much energy I was spending trying to adjust the atmosphere of a room - explaining, softening things, pointing something out so the tension wouldn’t sit there too long.

And like you said, it often felt like I was helping, or keeping things balanced. But looking back, a lot of it was just my own discomfort with leaving things unresolved.

Practising Vipassana meditation has helped me see this more clearly. The whole practice is about observing things as they are - sensations, thoughts, reactions - without immediately acting on them. You start to notice how strong the impulse is to discharge tension right away, and how unfamiliar it feels to simply let it pass through.

Learning to let a moment sit without stepping in has been surprisingly hard. There’s that urge in the body to say something - anything - just to release the pressure. But when I manage to stay quiet, something different happens. The room settles in a way that feels more honest.

I like how you described it as presence without interference. That line stayed with me. It feels less like withdrawal and more like a quieter kind of strength.

anna's avatar

Beautiful reflection. Thank you for sharing. 💛