Erling Kagge was the first person to surmount the “three poles” North Pole, South Pole and Mount Everest. His next book on my list is “Walking”, one of my favorite activities, but first, “Silence in the age of noise”.
He may not be a writer with the best flourish, but the message is succinct and strong:
- The secret to walking to the South Pole is to put one foot in front of the other, and to do this enough times. On a purely technical scale this is quite simple. Even a mouse can eat an elephant if it takes small enough bites. The challenge lies in the desire.
- I don’t knit, but when I watch someone who does, I think that they must have found some of the same inner peace that I discovered during my expeditions, even if their surroundings are not as quiet.
- The silence that lives in the grass, on the underside of each blade, and in the blue space between the stones. – The Silence That Follows – Rolf Jacobsen
- All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone. – Blaise Pascal
- One has to be able to deal with boredom and silence, since on the other side of boredom is insight and bliss. See this study : people would rather be electrically shocked than left alone with their thoughts.
- Silence is an experience that can be had for free. And it does not need to be replaced with the next season’s luxury goods.
- Another form of luxury is to be unavailable. To turn your back on the daily din is a privilege. Letting others take over tasks in your absence. The decision not to reply to text messages or pick up when the phone rings. You have fought your way into a position where you couldn’t care less if someone wants to contact you.
- Silence is about rediscovering, through pausing, the things that bring us joy.
- What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence – Ludwig Wittgenstein
- It is easier to find silence than many people think or believe. I had to use my legs to go far away in order to discover this, but I now know it is possible to reach silence anywhere. One only need subtract.