“Speech is silver, silence is golden.”
-Thomas Carlyle
One of my earliest posts assessed how in this day and age, silence is not always golden like the proverb suggests.
I had written about this era being all about speaking up whether it be about mental health, abuse or any other topic that has traditionally carried fear of negative consequences.
So when is silence golden if at all?
I believe that silence is golden when a loved one is venting and/or pouring their heart out to you.
Not to appear nonchalant towards them but to assure them that you’re listening to them. You’re imbibing every word they say to assess the situation before giving any advice, provided that they even want some.
In essence, silence is golden in the initial stages of listening.
This has become especially crucial in the era of social media where the goal for the majority of the people is to make their voice heard amidst an array of criticism, verbal arguments and in many cases, the arguments decending to downright nasty fights.
Somewhere in that chaos, it’s important to let people know that social media has it’s fair share of “good guys” as well.
Do you think there are specific situations when someone should be silent or speak up? Is assessment always neccessary? Share your thoughts by commenting below.