Robert Birming

The Sound of Silence

This writing prompt came up:

”What personality trait in people is a red flag for you?”

People who talk a lot. It’s immediately a red flag for me and sets off every alarm bell.

It doesn’t really matter what they talk about, although it’s of course extra annoying if someone can’t stop talking about themselves. But even if they talk about something I’m interested in, I find it annoying in the long run…

I get tired, and that tiredness is further amplified by knowing that it will lead to me getting a social hangover.

They say that we are born with two ears and one mouth to make us listen more and talk less. I wish that was true.

We can discover and learn so much just by listening more, by paying attention. Even the silence can give us important insights, if we are willing to listen closely.

We have all experienced that feeling when we honor a deceased person with a moment of silence. It’s as if the silence speaks louder than words. That’s the sound of silence.

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence