A Quiet Read
Don’t use your head or chest voice to read this. They are usually quite loud.
Try using your heart voice. Don’t ask me, I don’t know what it means.
This is a solemn read — it should feel like you’re whispering to yourself.
Actually, let’s observe a one-minute silence please for those who may never get the chance to read this.
Welcome to the episode 2 of One Thing You Don’t Have to Know. Today, we’re whispering about the infamous one-minute silence.
The first memory of a one-minute silence I observed was when I was in primary school. I think a teacher died and the counsellor, Mr.Olaiya (didn’t make that up, that was really my counsellor’s name) announced a teacher’s death on the assembly ground and asked us all to observe a one-minute silence for them. I can’t put in words how I felt but I’m certain I didn’t pray. I was lost in thought of when I was going to die too. As a child, I thought of death first when I heard that someone had died and till today, that’s still the capacity I still mostly think of death.
Now back to this one-minute silence thing, the history around it is warped. Some say it was first observed after the World War 1 in honour of soldiers who had lost their lives in the war while others say it was first observed in Cape Town. But one thing I connected from the diverse origin is that a one-minute silence is a period of silent contemplation, prayer, affection and meditation {this definition seemed common in the multiple articles I read].
You’re not supposed to get sad during a one-minute silence. You’re to reflect on the person’s life, their dreams and how they have touched your life. Pray for the work they left behind and their families who are experiencing grief in a way you can’t possibly imagine.
So if you’re like me, who focuses on how fleeting life is during a one-minute silence, you’re doing it wrong. It isn’t about you. It’s more of you giving a moment of your life to someone who has been a part of it or could have been a part of it. Don’t make someone’s death about you in that moment. I think this is why it’s called LAST RESPECT.
Go and show respect the right way.
