…what they had to say communicated itself best in the blessed silence of their release and isolation.

Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence

At times during this past year I have experienced the beauty of shared silence at level deeper than I could have imagined. It is true that silence can feel awkward, but in a relationship of trust, the communication that occurs with the eyes, with touch and through quality of presence transcends words. Anyone who knows me knows that I believe in the beauty of words, both written as well as spoken. I sometimes crave the voice of one I love. In those times, though, when spoken words seem awkward or unnecessary, I am still richly content.

Where words are restrained, the eyes often talk a great deal.

—Samuel Richardson