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My Image of Silence

Sharaai's picture

As I was looking for images of silence, I began to think about the moments in time when I appreciated a specific sense of silence. Images of schoolwork, sunsets and sleeping ran through my mind but one that stood out for me is the feeling I look for when I am reading for enjoyment. When I am reading to get away from my surroundings and am attempting to surround myself in a while new world; when I am reading for pleasure, I often hope to become completely involved in the book to point that my surroundings become silenced by the words I'm reading and the worlds I am throwing myself into. Though reading a good book brings a sense of silence over me, the image I chose doesn't necessarily pour out the feeling of silence. It has books everywhere, sticking out randomly from the shelves, stacked vertically, horizontally and all the ways possible. But when you look to the back of this image, you see a man looking at a book very intently. He seems so concentrated and enthralled in his reading that the mess of books around him fades away. This is the silence I love to see. Silence on the outside but the inner workings of the mind still seem to be hard at work.  

Comments

Anne Dalke's picture

walking meditation, in the stacks

One of my colleagues, J.C. Todd, told me that she was going to have her ESem do a "walking meditation" this week in the stacks @ Carpenter...I think the point of the exercise was that it was nearly impossible to be "still" when so surrounded by books....!