Silence, then, gives rise to even more active communication, requiring sensitivity and a capacity to listen that often makes manifest the true measure and nature of the relationships involved. Joy, anxiety, and suffering can all be communicated in silence – indeed it provides them with a particularly powerful mode of expression. It is often in silence, for example, that we observe the most authentic communication taking place between people who are in love: gestures, facial expressions and body language are signs by which they reveal themselves to each other. In this way, space is created for mutual listening, and deeper human relationships become possible. By remaining silent we allow the other person to speak, to express him or herself and we avoid being tied simply to our own words and ideas without them being adequately tested.
In silence, we are better able to listen to and understand ourselves ideas come to birth and acquire depth we understand with greater clarity what it is we want to say and what we expect from others and we choose how to express ourselves. Silence is an integral element of communication in its absence, words rich in content cannot exist. When word and silence become mutually exclusive, communication breaks down, either because it gives rise to confusion or because, on the contrary, it creates an atmosphere of coldness when they complement one another, however, communication acquires value and meaning. It concerns the relationship between silence and word: two aspects of communication which need to be kept in balance, to alternate and to be integrated with one another if authentic dialogue and deep closeness between people are to be achieved. As we draw near to World Communications Day 2012, I would like to share with you some reflections concerning an aspect of the human process of communication which, despite its importance, is often overlooked and which, at the present time, it would seem especially necessary to recall.
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