LISTEN & SILENT
Look again. These two words have the same letters. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
Here we are in December with all the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, special meals and treats to create, and lots of parties and get-togethers for which to prepare. And of course, there will be year-end projects to complete, new budgets to approve, and more work than your limited time can possibly complete.
We all have two choices – STRESS OUT!!!! or listen and be silent. When we take just a few moments to take a deep breath, consider our blessings, and rejoice in the abundance of all that we have, we can face our day with renewed energy and a positive attitude. From experience I can tell you that you will get a lot more accomplished and have a greater feeling of satisfaction when you take the time to LISTEN and be SILENT. But don’t just take my word for it, please enjoy and ponder the words of wisdom provided below.
And as the year comes to a close, may all be calm and all be bright!
Linda
PS – I know you have been LISTENING, but I have been SILENT about our renovations. I hope to have an announcement to make in January. Good things come to those who wait!!!
“I’ve begun to realize that you can listen to silence and learn from it. It has a quality and a dimension all its own.”- Chaim Potok, The Chosen
“We sit silently and watch the world around us. This has taken a lifetime to learn. It seems only the old are able to sit next to one another and not say anything and still feel content. The young, brash and impatient, must always break the silence. It is a waste, for silence is pure. Silence is holy. It draws people together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking. This is the great paradox.”
– Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook
“You have a grand gift for silence, Watson. It makes you quite invaluable as a companion.”
– Arthur Conan Doyle, The Complete Sherlock Holmes
“Silence is a source of Great Strength.”
– Lao Tzu
“Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven’t the answer to a question you’ve been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause of a room full of people when someone is just about to speak, or, most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and you’re alone in the whole house? Each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful if you listen carefully.”
– Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth
“Quiet is peace. Tranquility. Quiet is turning down the volume knob on life. Silence is pushing the off button. Shutting it down. All of it. – Amir”
– Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
