A Moment of Silence by Jina Wallwork

The absence of other people leads you to discover yourself. Their advice and criticism cannot reach you because all you can hear is the wind between the trees. In this place of total freedom, you can listen to your heart’s desire. Do you want to dance or sing with only the trees as a witness? You’ve no need for approval. Follow your heart and you will discover who you really are.

When you leave this place, to walk among the tall buildings, you will be wrapped inside a crowd of people and you will be pushed to conform to the rules of society. You will want to belong to particular groups and connect to the people you like. Remember what you felt when you sat in silence among nature. You listened to your thoughts and feelings when they were isolated from the opinions of others. You cannot stray too far from the person you were in that moment. Find your place within a crowd. Harmonize in the presence of others, but don’t lose yourself. If you ever become lost within pretense and conformity you can always enter the silence and rediscover your nature. It’s challenging to connect to others with real depth and openness. There is always space for superficiality to hide what is important and create distance between those who sit side by side. However, there is always something magical about being understood and valued for who you are. These things are only possible if we allow other people to see us as we really are. It’s within the silence that we discover our personal truth, and we must have the courage to share that truth with the people around us.