Keanu Reeves Speaks Loudly — And It’s Time to Listen

To listen, one must be silent

Keanu Reeves is known for his long moments of silence, and he’s very soft-spoken. So it’s his actions, his soft-spoken words, and his lack of words at times — these are the things that speak loudly to me as a sort of wake-up call.

Have you ever realized — the word listen contains the same letters as the word silent? Weird, right?

Seriously, how coincidental is that? It makes sense, though, because to listen, one must be silent.

It’s usually best to think before we speak

In interviews, Keanu Reeves will take a long time to respond to a question — typically about 10 seconds to absorb what he was asked; he’s taken even longer when he was silent for a full 28 seconds before finally answering.

Have you ever said something to someone and put your foot in your mouth and wished you had never said anything at all? I know I have, and I’m sure many others have done this at least once in their lives.

One precious lesson I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older is that I’ve begun to realize how unnecessary it is to utter a response to people who don’t want to listen in the first place.

It seems toxic to my well-being to try to have a battle of wits with someone who refuses to listen.

Have you ever met someone like this? Someone who thinks only their opinion matters and who cuts you off mid-sentence if you try to refute their point of view?

I’ve met plenty of people like this.

Paying attention is better than getting attention

As my 3rd wife and I celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary (and most significantly, after being married almost 20 years to my second wife), I’ve realized the importance of paying attention rather than getting attention.

Sometimes, I had to learn this the hard way, and I’ve certainly had to learn this several times before it finally sank in.

…life will keep teaching the same lesson until it knows the listener has grasped the essence of the subject matter it wants to teach.

The importance and sheer magic of silence

Keanu Reeves has brilliantly displayed the importance and sheer magic of silence when conducting his interviews and throughout his day-to-day life, a life lesson many of us would do well to adopt.

Being quiet and thinking deliberately about something can help us mold our dreams, visions, and goals into stunning statues.

These statues, being a metaphorical solidification of all that we’ve ever hoped for, will become our reality as we continue to practice quiet and deliberation.

I’m not talking about getting lost in your thoughts — this can be counterproductive, of course.

I’ve begun to realize the importance and sheer magic of silence.

But as mentioned briefly above, we shouldn’t get lost in our minds because this leads to overthinking, and research shows the habit can have real impacts on our well-being because it involves focusing on the negative — rehashing the past, dwelling on bad experiences, or worrying about the future.

To me, overthinking is like moving backward — not forward.

What we want is quiet and to think deliberately about something. But how? How do we turn off the mental auto-pilot and start thinking deliberately?

If we want to start moving forward in the right direction in our lives and not off on some wild tangent, we need to practice thinking deliberately.

When speaking of intentional thinking, Kristin Barton Cuthriell says,

We need to be aware of what we are thinking and be willing to challenge our thoughts

But how do we challenge our thinking?

Again Curthriel offers advice, “ In order to challenge our thinking, we need to practice separating our thoughts from our emotions.”

So, when we let our emotions get in the way of thinking clearly and deliberately, this is when we would typically start to overthink.

We learn then it’s not just silence that’s important, but also thinking intentionally with no regard to emotion.

Be alone and be quiet

Learning how to be alone and forming a relationship with silence are vital factors in piloting our journey to inner peace and overall happiness.

It’s in these moments of silence, these quiet times in our lives, when we can hear the subtle voices of universal wisdom speaking directly to our consciousness.

All of our great traditions — religious, contemplative and artistic — say that you must learn how to be alone and have a relationship with silence. It is difficult, but it can start with just the tiniest quiet moment. ~ David Whyte

I express this idea in one of my poems entitled, Daydreams and Nightscapes; in the first stanza, I write:

I’m racing further out of time

with mystic chanting visions

the silent echoes soothe my mind

no troubles, no decisions

Right before writing the poem referenced above, I had been meditating in a completely dark space. I was alone, and it was utterly silent.

In the quietness, after some time had passed, I could envision a single point of light in my mind. So I focused all my attention and energy on this minuscule point of light, and it began to grow.

I started hearing soft chanting. I then realized that the point of light I had seen in my mind was a fire and the chanting I was hearing increased in intensity as the flame grew brighter.

I found a few brief moments of complete peace and tranquility as I listened to those mystic chanting visions.

Afterward, I wrote the poem I had dubbed Daydreams and Nightscapes.

In my quiet, I was working something out.~ Keanu Reeves

I am no stranger to the concept of quiet times igniting us with the burning truths of universal wisdom.

I’ve written several poems about these experiences, and I plan to write many more as I continue my journey.

We’re creatures of habit

We are all creatures of habit, and habits are an essential part of our being. It’s been said that more than 40 percent of all the actions we perform on any day are the result of habits and not decisions.

Thus, habits shape your life far more than you probably realize.

We are the sum of who we are. We pick certain things at certain moments that influenced us. ~ Keanu Reeves

Speaking too much can become habitual. However, listening can be a form of a good habit one should adopt.

Break the routine and systematic oppression of bad habits.

Habits are so powerful because they create neurological cravings: A certain behavior is rewarded by the release of “pleasure” chemicals in the brain.

We should try to form good habits. Also, our brain can’t tell the difference between bad and good habits. So we have to do that. In doing so, we’ll reward our brains as the result of our good actions and behaviors.

Can you see the dual benefit here?

Your future is in your hands

In life, we have many choices every day. Often, bad choices bring about very negative results.

I’ve made many mistakes in life, and I’m pretty sure none can say they haven’t.

Consequently, I’ve chosen to live by a motto I coined a while ago and posted on my Facebook page. You can’t change your past, but you can shape your future. So, good choices today — no regrets tomorrow.

Fortunately, even though I’ve made many mistakes in life, I have no regrets.

Every decision I’ve made — be it good or bad, has made me the person I am today. And honestly, I wouldn’t trade my life for anything.

“The recognition of the law of cause and effect, also known as karma, is a fundamental key to understand how you’ve created your world, with actions of your body, speech, and mind. When you truly understand karma, then you realize you are responsible for everything in your life. It is incredibly empowering to know that your future is in your hands.” ~ Keanu Reeves

I am moving forward as I strive to live a life of peace and happiness and to be a better human being overall.

I constantly learn the lessons life has a subtle way of teaching. And seriously, life will keep teaching the same lesson until it knows the listener has grasped the essence of the subject matter it wants to teach.

The takeaway

Life is full of choices. We can choose to be quiet and listen or choose to be loud.

Actions speak louder than words; we’ve all heard this before. Well, allow me to add this: acts of silence can speak volumes about a person.

So how would you like to be known: as a loud person who can’t control their mouth or as a quiet person who speaks deliberately?

Keanu reeve’s soft-spoken nature and lack of words at times can be a good example to help you to pilot your journey to inner peace and overall happiness.

A fool is known by his speech, and a wise man by silence.

Be silent or let thy words be worth more than silence.

Pythagoras

Find peace in knowing your future is created as you go, and everything you do or say can affect the outcome. Also, form good habits that will help positively shape your future.

On my journey to inner peace and overall happiness, I’ve begun to appreciate more and more the small moments of silence throughout my day.

I’ve started to realize the incredible powers inherent to my being — abilities like silence, positive thinking, good habits, and tapping into universal wisdom.

It’s easy to stay grounded. The ground is very close. And we walk on it every day.~Keanu Reeves

The past has created our present.

Our choices create our future.

What will you choose?

Thanks for reading! Stay safe and be well!