Silence

The notion of 'Silence' has always fascinated me as i have constantly wondered how or even if it can be obtained. I specifically love the fact that by just sitting within it, you can feel a wide range of emotions, depending on your environment or state of mind.

For example:

• If really tired or stressed, some may find silence calming or relaxing as it is often used to fall into a state of meditation.
• If with a stranger (on a date) and it suddenly goes silent, it can feel awkward.
• If there is nothing to do, activity wise, many sit in silence due to their boredom
• If being chased or hiding form someone, the silence can cause tension and fear.

You see it is amazing how something so fragile and perishable by a single breath, can be so powerful to evoke a tremendous range of emotions.
Whilst researching I remembered an exercise on Nintendo Wii Fit called Zazen in which you have to balance on the Wii Balance Board to keep the flame alight, but there are a range of sound effects used to either calm or make you uneasy so you with shake the flame and extinguish it. Below is a clip of the game so you can understand fully.



I chose this clip/game as I feel it captures the range of emotions evoked by silence perfectly as the creaking makes you feel nervous, whilst the lotus sounds make you feel calming. Yet it is the silence in between each sound where you feel the uneasiness, as you are unsure of what will happen next.