Honestly, for the past 5-7 years I've been secretly dreaming of opening something like an institute of thinking...

And the older I get, the stronger this desire becomes.

I absolutely don't understand why people don't want to think (specifically think, not just ponder) and reason without tying their personal emotional and life experience to the topic of conversation))

And the further I go, the stronger the realization that I have zero chance of understanding this. Even if I do understand... the reasons don't matter. Nothing will change. So it's simpler, more effective, and more interesting to teach those who want to learn how to think...

More precisely, not to teach, but simply to think on demand, visibly, as an example... And then whoever needs it will take the example and adapt it to themselves.

Where would I start? Well... probably with analyzing proverbs—that would be right and fitting.

For example:
"Silence is golden."

Recently I began to understand the depth and essence of this simple truth. Lately, I've been silent a lot. Not because I don't want communication, but because I don't see interesting topics for discussion.

☝🏻 Speaking and communicating are not the same thing.

Many people around are always talking about something. Listen to yourself and others... What is the conversation actually about?

Usually it's:
* Either a listing of everyday facts. Today I saw an accident on the corner, two cars collided. Hmm... anyone hurt? I don't know... The rain is crazy, the wind is terrible, I wish summer would come soon.

* Or voicing everything that's spinning in your head without a filter of reflection. So, where are the scissors? Oh, here they are... I feel like something sweet. I hate peeling potatoes!

* Or using speech to avoid silence and boredom. Jokes like a machine gun, stories from the past for the tenth time, discussing clothes and purchases, long narratives with a dozen subplots and frequent changes in storyline.

* Or retelling others' opinions as if they were your own. This is the most dangerous type of communication, because it's here that people are ready to defend "their" position with maximum aggression. For example, not long ago people were arguing vehemently about the gender of the word "coffee"—masculine or neuter—easily labeling their opponent as ignorant. And there are thousands of such examples.

There's no trace of thinking or communication here. At most, it's communication and a ridiculous struggle for the correctness of headlines.

I'm not saying communication is bad. Conscious communication is always beneficial. But unconscious communication is just boring—and when a person learns to distinguish the essence and content of the words "Communication", "Thinking", and "Interaction"—they come to understand the depth of the proverb "silence is golden".

Moreover, it's hard to ignore the fact that only about 7% of information is transmitted through words, and the remaining 93% through non-verbal tools (gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice, eye contact, postures, spatial arrangement, etc.). You can Google it...

It turns out that silence in communication is impossible, and what is meant is refraining from speaking)))

Well, well... that's a different matter, a different perspective, or, as the main character of the series "Liquidation" says, a different twist!))).

Gold in this proverb is not the silence itself in the mouth, but precisely the restraint. Because this process requires effort, speed of thinking, depth of inner dialogue, sensitivity, and victory over one's Ego, which usually cares more about speaking than thinking. And that is worthy of respect, and the one who coined this proverb understands more meanings in depth than all of us combined, because he managed to pack the essence into two words, which we decipher for years with long texts.

That's what thinking means to me—diving into the essence, between the lines, into the depth. It's dissecting obvious and banal thoughts.

After all, if thoughts themselves are material, then one must be able to think, not just ponder. To communicate, not just speak. To reason, not just retell.