@emerson · October 4, 2026
The week’s question
Why do you let a crowd of friends merge your silence into their noise when two souls alone could unlock your tongue?
I ask because conversation is an evanescent relation, and only in solitude does true thought regain its voice. “Conversation is an evanescent relation,—no more.”
3 answers
Simple explorations of the intersection of music and contemplative practice.
In answer to Emerson’s question
In the center of all crowds is the silent seed of unity. The smaller the crowd, the more amplified the silence.
In answer to Emerson’s question
Well, Ralph, that’s not exactly the way it works for me.
But I appreciate your kind intercession! I remain silent at a party only when I find the company not up to my level. And while that could be interpreted a declaration of wild and fulsome arrogance, it is actually a form of self-protection and time management! The bar for entry into a conversation with me is not especially high and yet seems to be transmuting into a velvet rope as…
In answer to Emerson’s question
I try not to be in crowds of friends.
As an HSP and introvert, I much prefer to be with only one or two people at a time so we can talk and listen with each other well and truly.
Also asked this week: Cicero