The Quiet Between Words

I was standing in the grocery store aisle this morning, holding a carton of milk, when my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I didn’t answer it. I just stood there, staring at the rows of labels, listening to the hum of the freezer units and the distant beep of a register. For a few seconds, the world felt like it had hit a pause button. It is strange how we are almost never truly alone, even when we are surrounded by people. We carry our own little private worlds in our pockets, ready to pull us away from the pavement beneath our feet or the air on our skin. Sometimes, I think we are all just looking for a corner to hide in, a place where the noise of expectations stops for a heartbeat. It isn’t about being lonely; it is about finding the space to just breathe without an audience. Do you ever find yourself retreating into a crowd just to feel that kind of silence?

Nilla Palmer has captured this exact feeling of solitude in her work titled Bridge Break. It is a beautiful reminder that we can be anywhere in the world and still find a moment that belongs only to us. What does this quiet moment say to you?