The silence between

The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.

— Mozart

There is a lot of truth behind this quote. I didn’t fully understand it the first time I heard this quote, but I felt a sense of weight and truth behind it. It wasn’t until I was listening to Cold War by Cautious Clay (great song, by the way) where I began to understand what Mozart was saying. There was a beautiful and strategic pause in the beginning of the chorus that created a space to build tension and excitement which uncovered a new dimension to the song.

I have been exploring the idea that there are not only notes and silences in music, but also in life. If life milestones are the notes, then the time between milestones are the silences. Therefore, theoretically, if Mozart’s quote is true, then the beauty of life is not in the achievement of milestones itself, but rather, what happens in the time between milestones when we are patiently growing, finding ourselves, and developing relationships with others.

I sometimes find myself fogged by the glamour of milestones and grow less content of where I am. But most of life are silences, not notes. So let’s make the most out of our seasons of silence; after all, that is where the beauty of life resides.

What is your season of silence teaching you?