Silence allows us put a little distance between ourselves and all that, quite literally, occupies our lives,  our time and our minds. To be silent is to put things into perspective. It is to let go of our needless preoccupation about the past and the future, and become aware of the still centre behind the internal commentary. By cultivating silence, we draw aside the curtain on which we project the ephemeral fantasies and obsessions of our so-called “normal” life, a life characterized by being anywhere and indeed everywhere but here and now.

Nicolas Buxton, Tantalus and the Pelican: Exploring Monastic Spirituality Today