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THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE In the ancient traditions there was a time when one was punished by banishment or the silence of the community around them. If one had done wrong, no one spoke to them and walked away from them when they entered a room. The Grandmother’s pulled the shawl over their face to speak the unspeakable rejection of behavior. There was much power in the void of silence. When banished to that place one is caused to find the many voices in the silence. There is the silence that is thick and filled with ANGER. It is hot , musty and very uncomfortable. It hurts even more to hold it in. It is treated as if it were a treasure that others can only view but not touch or heal. It is selfish with purpose to punish another. There is the silence of JOY that says you don’t need to tell anyone how happy you are. Every one can tell. Your smile shows it, the light in your eyes tell it’s own story ! You can see it in the bright colored clothes and in the room of masterful art. There is the silence that is IGNORANCE. It is thin and veiled with unknowing. It is a silence that makes one want to slap another awake. There is the silence of AWE. That is so huge and so full of color and light and it exceeds words. It just hangs on to the smile and the body that wants to dance. It is found the moment that you are overwhelmed by the movie star, the Guru or the idea that you are in the same room with majesty. It is found in your arms when you hold a new born baby. There is the silence that is APATHY, that says, you don’t care. If you don’t look or acknowledge, it goes away. ...that thing you find distasteful; the beggar, the puke on the street.....It is apathy of politics of the human condition. It is knowing but not caring. There is a special silence that comes with CONSCIOUSNESS. IT says that you will not lend your voice to cheer on the bully. It says that you will not support a cause that goes against the respect of all living creatures, great and small. There is the silence that is FRUSTRATION that is tangled in the emotion of not being able to find the right words to speak the need. It is twisted and painful. IT feels nervous, lost and alone. It feels backed up against the wall. There is the silence that is THINKING, the one that comes with lots of energy and desire to create a mindful solution. It says you want to be sure of your information before you speak it. It has an edge of perfection to it and it is tireless in it’s desire to succeed. There is the silence of FEAR. That is deep in the lack of ability to speak. It says you are afraid of being hurt or rejected. It is a huge white ball wanting to be filled with words and sits on the tip of the tongue awaiting it’s moment to explode. It is a scream that is bigger than sound. There is the silence of EMBARRASSMENT that says if you don’t say anything, maybe no one will notice that you have shoes on that don’t match and a buggar hanging on your nose!! IT is a sound of attempted invisability. There is the sound of IMPATIENCE that comes with a tapping toe and a stern look. While the silence of PATIENCE comes with a deep breathe of knowing that things will simply happen when they happen and there is no reason to fidget...(you say as you fumble with your hands deep in your pockets of knowing!) There is the silence that says SCREW YOU. It is tense and comes with a visable challenge. It is all about knowing and not caring . It is about marking a turf without any reason, other than the moment of perceived power. It comes with a disengaging look, that cuts through the juggler vein of life. There is the silence of COP OUT, which says nothing and becomes the lie. It is the silence that refuses to acknowledge another out of a need to be in control. It is a rude and self centered silence. It is lonely. There is the silence that is muddled in the moment of simply being TOO TIRED to think. Your mind has stopped and you are unable to form any meaningful words. There is the silence of JUDGEMENT that is a painful knowing as others look your way and turn away as if appalled by your very existence. There is the silence that comes as a simple NOD OF APPROVAL. There is the OOPS, I FORGOT silence . It isn’t on purpose, it accidently happens while time slips away. There is the silence of SHOCK that comes in the unexpected moment. We open our mouth to speak and nothing comes out. It sucks inside us and rips deep into the soul. There is the GUILTY silence that feels gooey and icky. It steps from one foot to another in awkward moments that seem to last for hours. There is the silence of SADNESS that comes in low deep sighs of surrender and helplessness. It is blue and gray and moves downward with glances that hang on the shoulders that sag with the weight of the world. There is the silence of HURT FEELINGS that shrugs away in unknowing what to say. You work to empty the vessel of pain. There is the silence of LISTENING with deep respect and open mind. The eyes and heart are engaged in the wires of connection that are being woven. There is a silence that is CLUELESS is looks and sounds like one great big DAH!!! It is someone standing on your toes while reaching to give you a hug because your eyes are filled with tears of pain!!! There is the silence that comes in the VOID of the coma or death. No matter how far you reach you cannot find a sound or a breathe that says life. It is the silence that says no more. WHAT IS THE SILENCE THAT YOU EMBRACE TODAY?????? THE WORDS LISTEN AND SILENCE CONTAIN THE SAME LETTERS!!! Charla Hermann Tarwater
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