I am one of those people who benefits from practicing a
personal habit of silence.
Unlike my husband and daughter who enjoy music in the
background while they work at their laptops, I enjoy silence. I find myself
driving in silence most of the time with the radio off. The external noise like
house and road sounds seem to act like accelerometers to my head noise, and I
seek refuge in silence.
I’ve been meditating on keeping my figurative mouth shut, as
in not getting too engaged in expressing my opinions on what’s happening in the
world. It’s not that I don’t have opinions, because I do hold strong positions
on all sorts of things. However, as I routinely read blogs, columnists and
commentators, I tire of the volleying back and forth between conservative and
liberal views without much serious openness to the other’s view. The volleys
frequently feel like assaults to me.
“What difference does expressing my opinion make,” I ask
myself. Pollsters, political advisors and activists would argue that making
one’s opinions heard is paramount. Speaking out is competitive. Primacy in
having one’s voice heard is about dominance and privilege.
I wonder if I am causing any harm when I state my opinions. I
am more interested in discussing the questions and raising the issues than in
arguing or defending my positions. The posture I want to practice is one of
sitting quietly with the questions and issues and contemplating the flow around
them. Silence can be golden.
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