QUIET 2

QUIET - 2

Two schools of thought seem to surround  QUIET.

For some, “QUIET!” sounds like a stern admonition to cease and desist from all things fun and noisy.

For others, “QUIET!” sounds like balm for the soul – a blessed relief from the barrage of busy noise that assails them on all sides.

And the same opposing views surround the whole issue of QUIET books.

Some editors and agents malign QUIET books.   “Too quiet,” is a common reason for rejecting a manuscript.  Quiet books don’t sell well, they say.  Publishers want books with more action, more drama, more excitement – all of which will sustain attention spans, warrant multiple readings, and of course, sell more books!  Or so the theory goes!

There are others (myself included) who believe in QUIET books.  

QUIET books, like the state of QUIET itself, have power.  

What they lack in excitement and suspense, they compensate for with poignancy, with moments that make us pause, ponder, and wonder. Pondering and wondering are fast becoming obsolete in this age of Google, where the greatest sin of all is to admit,

 “I don’t know.”

Good stories can remind us that not all things can or should be Googled.  Not all things can or should be measured.  Our world brims with mystery and wonder and often the best response to such mystery is……SILENCE.

We all have experienced times in our lives when words fail us. In the face of immense beauty or gut-wrenching tragedy, words seem out of place, like an unwelcome guest.  A priest friend of mine says that when people are in the midst of grieving and sorrow, we should not even try to utter words, for there are none that can possibly comfort.  Instead, we should bring only our silent presence –

 hover, hush, and hug. 

  Not an easy thing to do in our culture that clamors for answers to the mystery of suffering!

Our world has led us to believe that busy is good, that the hum of voices, and the clatter of tools equates with productivity. But remember what Socrates warned, 

“Beware of the barrenness of a busy life.”

 We link work with a tangible, quantifiable product.  We are more comfortable with that which can be measured, defined, and quantified, than something more elusive, such as an idea simmering or an image being created.

It's interesting to note that Americans use the word, VACATION for that period of non-working time, whereas I grew up in Scotland using the word, HOLIDAY.

VACATION - comes from the Latin, VACARE, meaning to empty.
HOLIDAY - comes from the Old English, HOLY DAY ( a time to RE-CREATE).  Hmm, different ways of looking at the whole issue of being versus doing.

We are human BEINGS, not DOINGS, so we do need to find time to BE so we can DO. 

“The Quiet Book,” by Deborah Underwood is a beautiful example of the power of QUIET.  With spare, poetic text, and enchanting illustration, this book explores the different kind of quiets that fill a child’s day from morning to night.  There is no dramatic storyline, no plot twists and turns, no specific characters, no huge excitement – it is a quiet book about all things quiet from a child’s perspective….and it is a New York Times bestseller!  So much for quiet books not selling!

Some other quiet books that I love to read to kids.

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.”  ANON