Practicing Silence (12/8/23)

This is the holiday season---full of bright lights, holiday music, candles, good food, and gathering together. In the hustle and bustle of the season there is more traffic! I am sure we have all noticed how much harder it is to get from here to there. To think of this in a positive way, I like to think that as I am standing for long durations in check out lines, it is my opportunity to smile at a stranger and see so many more people whom I have never met. We live lives of always "going places" that when we need to stop and wait in line, we can actually do just that, "stop." We can observe our surroundings, and maybe share a holiday greeting with the person next to us.

I love the holiday music, too. It does make me feel more cheerful and it helps to keep me feeling energetic even if tired. 

Then, I asked myself, "Where is the silence?" Are we afraid to allow silence to exist in a room or in our lives?

So much that is spiritual and traditional in the holidays involves prayer, togetherness, and a moment of silent reflection. The silence we use to remember those who have perished helps us reconnect to our inner thoughts and inner peace. Building silence into our day is very important and practicing being silent requires exactly that, practicing being silent.

As I was preparing a student for his solo this coming weekend, we talked about placing our hands in rest position and just thinking about the music. We also talked about placing our hands in the ready position and hearing the music inside our head. Finally, we talked about taking a breath before playing the piece. These three steps were a way to thoughtfully and mindfully prepare. It would create a moment of silence that would help the audience be prepared to listen. At the end of a piece, it is important to hold our position (arms in the air) while the final vibrations fade and count out the final rests in the last measure. These silences are very powerful and meaningful.

In our current world of rushing from activity to activity and checking off our "to do" list, a small moment of silence could allow for some deep breaths and a moment to connect to our purpose in the forthcoming action.  In fact, the writing of these weekly comments for the Friday Upbeat each week, allow me to have that moment of quiet reflection that reconnects me to my purpose and to an inner peace.  From this silence, comes the feeling that what I do as a Suzuki teacher has deeper meaning.  As we nurture our children and others, we must remember that giving them space to have silence is a way to inspire their own deeper wisdom.

Sachiko Isihara

Executive Director

Suzuki School of Newton