laughter or silence

"Silence in a circle of trust differs from laughter in one important way, besides the fact that it is less noisy. The laughter that deepens our relationships is not a planned practice but a spontaneous response to shared experience. It is not the kind of laughter evoked by a skilled comedian. It is the kind that comes naturally as we spot-and throw the spotlight on- the comedy inherent in everyday life. But the silence that deepens our relationships must be a conscious practice before it can become a spontaneous response. Why? Because laughter is acceptable in our culture, while silence is not. By creating moments of intentional silence, we smooth the way for spontaneous silence in a culture where the cessation of sound is taken as a sign that something has gone terribly wrong." -Parker Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness