Silence is not the absence of something but the presence of everything. It lives here, profoundly, at One Square Inch in the Hoh Rain Forest. It is the presence of time, undisturbed. It can be felt within the chest. Silence nurtures our nature, our human nature, and lets us know who we are. … But silence cannot be imagined, although most people think so. To experience the soul-swelling wonder of silence, you must hear it.

Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence-…, loc. 26