I Sat in Silence Without Escaping It

Dear Delyara, I used to fill silence with anything I could find — music, podcasts, television, noise, scrolling, talking, anything to stop my thoughts from catching up with me. Last night I sat in complete silence for fifteen minutes and didn’t panic. I know that sounds tiny. It isn’t. There was a time when quiet felt like exposure. Now, sometimes, it feels like a room I can actually stay in. I don’t know when that changed. I’m just grateful it did.