in which silence oppresses.

i like silence. my obsessive tendencies where music is concerned may be standing up right now on their tippy toes screaming 'no she doesn't! no she doesn't!' but you can't hear them and therefore they do not make a sound. much like that ill-fated Tree in the woods.

but i was talking about silence. it helps me think, makes me more sensitive to my surroundings, et cetera.

the thing about silence is, when there are a significant number of people in a space where there are significant numbers of people they do not know, it deftly morphs into its ugly cousin, Paralyzing Silence. if you so much as shift in your seat, you can be certain that the section of people in the general area where you are located will know about it, and they will indicate to you that they know about it, usually in a disdainful manner. it is very important that you know that they know about it. if you do find yourself in an emergency situation, you need to have a look on your face that is as apologetic as possible. there is no coughing, no sneezing, and definitely no awkward chuckling with the one person you actually do know about how awkward this silence is. the herd will Focus on you, and you will be embarrassed.

the best thing to do, should you find yourself in the clutches of Paralyzing Silence, would be to hold your breath. however, if Paralyzing Silence decides to viciously last longer than you can hold your breath, you had better let it out really softly. Definitely Not in the way where your cheeks get all puffy with the held-in air and then you have no choice to let it out and it comes out Significantly Louder than it would if you had really Focused on letting it out softly.

you need to Focus. learn a lesson from our friend Tree: it was Focused enough to fucking fall in the woods soundlessly, with all those crinkly leaves everywhere and those annoying chirping birdies getting annoyingly chirpy. let Tree inspire you to do the same.