The Art of Silence

The Art of Silence

Melissa Dallago

I always struggled to silence my cluttered, voice filled mind, until I learned the art of silence from the unlikeliest of sources, a lioness named Kia who was kept at my local zoo.  I visited the zoo often and would always see her, but I only stayed for a moment before moving on to the next enclosure until the day Kia did something amazing.

That day when I arrived at her enclosure Kia was napping, yet she must have sensed my presence because she woke up and looked directly into my eyes with a concentration I had never seen before.  I was paralyzed as I stared into her deep amber eyes.  She held eye contact with me constantly and was not distracted by any activity.  The voices in my, that had been noisily chattering away before, paused.  As we continued with locked gazes, my inner dialogue was quieted due to my sheer awe at the majesty of the stunning golden lioness staring directly into my eyes and into my very soul.  Kia was the epitome of stillness, silence and grace personified in a living, elemental being, which were traits that I had been struggling to learn.  Before I knew it the minutes had become hours and the next thing I knew the zoo was closing.  As if realizing our time was over, Kia rose and walked to the door of her night enclosure.  During that afternoon with Kia all of my worries, stresses and fears had receded and I had unknowingly entered a calm and meditative state communing with her.

I began to visit Kia on a weekly basis.  I looked forward to my time with her because I learned how to calm my inner voices, and achieve a state of silence in her presence.  Time passed and Kia has moved on to the Great Savannah in the sky, but I continue to find silence in my mind when I need it by picturing Kia’s golden coat and deep amber eyes staring into mine; and that is how I learned the art of silence from a lioness.