Welcome.
I’m not sure what it was that prompted me to write this blog. I suppose I should be honest and accept there is a desire of recognition of some kind, of leaving one’s thoughts for posterity in the hope that someone, perhaps even a family member, might read and appreciate them. There are other things too of course: a genuine hope that the content of Quietsilence might be helpful for others, that the process of writing will bring greater clarity to my own thoughts, that it will help me develop my skills as a writer and be a platform for my artwork or longer form writing. In the end though I suppose it comes to the same thing wished by our species for millennia - the hope that one’s scratching on the cave wall will help give a meaning to existence and somehow reach out to those who come after us, however indistinctly.
Expect to read here the reflections of someone trying to live a life in greater accordance with the quiet but insistent promptings of his own heart. As I get older I am less sure exactly what enduring truth lies at the centre of our existence, but I do become increasing aware of an almost imperceptible, fragile but nonetheless real sense of a presence that I might call God. I have come to think of this as a ‘quiet silence’ that exists not separate from us but emanating through the whole of creation - not something that we have to travel towards, but something that is already present. Although in earlier posts on this blog (see for example A state of grace - the photography of Sergio Larrain) I saw ‘quiet silence’ as an elusive quality connected with the visual arts, I've now come to realise that was merely one of its manifestations.
Despite what I’ve written above Quietsilence is not meant to be solely about what might be typically thought of as ‘spiritual’ subjects. Don’t be surprised to see examples of my personal poetry, articles on writing and even the art of digital composition and photography. I also intend the site to be a ‘coming together’ of my earlier scribblings that have appeared on the web in one form or another over the years.
Whatever you find here I hope it is interesting and useful.
Please don't hesitate to get in contact if you have any queries or wish to contribute your own thoughts.
Thank you.
Simon.
