Quiet

I have been contemplating the value of quiet today. Sitting in a room full of quiet people, working and concentrating. I almost never feel peaceful surrounded by people, but somehow when they are all desperately concentrating on the test they are taking and completely silent I find it very restful. I know that the students don't find it very peaceful. They hate taking tests and they hate being quiet.

Last night I was thinking of the other value of quiet, that of knowing when to stay silent. A friend was venting to me about a lot of very difficult and frustrating things in her life. I kept coming up with things I really wanted to say. But every time I would stop myself long enough to ask whether what I wanted to say would really be helpful for her, and almost every time the answer was no. So I didn't say much other than appropriate "I'm listening" noises. But I think that was the right thing to do.