The Gift of Pianissimo

Last updated on: March 7, 2024 at 7:45 pm by Kathy King

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The Gift of Pianissimo 2024-03-07T19:45:09-05:00 Kathy King

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Quiet Morning
Paul King

The Gift of Pianissimo and Silence

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

“Silence isn’t empty, it is full of answers.”

Unknown

It’s okay to be quiet.

It’s okay to be Pianissimo.

It’s okay to enjoy the silence, and let your mind unload.

The silence is healing, it can make your soul replete.

Pianissimo means to play very quietly.

To give the loud melody or harmony a break.

It is even possible to become Pianissimo and play even more quietly.

The music becomes but a whisper, a far away melody.

So be silent, stay still and listen.

Take the refreshment, tranquility and peace that quietude can convey.

Learn from the silence, it can help in so many ways to help you focus, to give you clarity when the world is loud and forte.

Wishes
Daniel King

Do you ever feel like the world and life is just a constant barrage of noise?

Whether that noise is in the physical world or the digital world. In this age of information overload, where does silence play a part? In music, Pianissimo means to be played very quietly. It is akin to whispering whilst playing your music. Pianissimo is to play very, very, quietly, a very quiet whisper. Many composers wrote pieces in Pianissimo. I encourage everyone to take an afternoon and play some of Bach’s works. The one that comes to mind is Bach’s Aria Variata.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HSMd-6pnIk

Quiet Walk
Daniel King

The notes weave through so quietly and beautifully. I liken the piece to a date with heaven. Glorious, magnificent and relaxing. When we practice the art of pianissimo what does that do for our physical body? According to science, this practice can lower blood pressure, improve concentration and focus, stimulate brain growth, and it reduces cortisol (the primary stress hormone) in the brain. It causes more mindfulness and it improves insomnia. All the more reason to take a moment and enjoy the silence. In heaven there will be much music and rejoicing. I really believe Bach was plugged into heaven while on earth. There is a song sung in Revelation of a new heaven and earth. You can read the song here.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%205&version=NIV

In the South we rarely get the gift of snow. When we do, one of my absolute favorite activities is to take a walk after much of the snow has fallen. The silence is almost like going to church in a glorious cathedral and communing with the angels.

The beauty of freshly fallen snow is pristine, almost a purified moment that washes away the dust and dank of daily life. That is illustrious silence. I imagine that practicing mindful pianissimo has the same effect on our minds, souls, and spirit. Even if it is 5 minutes, imagine what that snippet of time can do for you. Take some time, put down the phone, don’t turn on the television. Dare to daydream, dare to pray! Dare to meditate. Take some time for yourself each day.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/

In giving to yourself you can charge your battery and pass on good will to others who need the silent goodness terribly. When you give to others it encourages them to be a better version of themselves. Just watch and see. Let’s start a moment to find our pianissimo if but for a moment each day. It is time for us to make deposits of benevolence and charity in a very meaningful way. In the words of Rumi: “Listen to silence, it has much to say.”

https://www.rumi.org.uk/