When Silence Reigns

So much emphasis over the years was placed on the ability to speak in front of a large crowd. In my youth I would break the silence with humor. If I could get people to laugh I would feel a little less uncomfortable. I think to this day I unconsciously still try to put people at ease with humor.

Thomas was one of those teachers you never forget, I had him for English and Public speaking. He use to always say "bring the words to life with expression" and then I would find him smiling as I over exaggerated a statement. It was all in good fun, but as I have gotten older, I have come to learn the importance is not always in what we say, but our ability to listen to those around us.

There are many ways we falter in our willingness to listen. Sometimes it is merely poor interpretation and occasionally it can be a shield that we place to block or protect our spirit or heart. I remember at times over analyzing and again twisting the words in a way that soothed without any pain. Mastering speech and interpretation are equally as important. I don't think people realize the power of both actions nor the unconscious manipulation of communication.

Silence on the other hand can speak as loud or louder and can and is easily misinterpreted as well as any well written speech. Sometimes I find myself having to literally step back and review a moment in time. Was it a matter of my wants or my desire that so foolishly set me up on a misguided tour of life? I questioned that but I already knew the answer, " time is the great healer" People heal at different rates of time, sometimes it can be quick and painless and other times we drag it out to soothe the heart and allow a period of acceptance. Do we hear? Do we listen? I do believe that inside we are absorbing the action and words of others and that we file them accordingly and call on them in periods of time where they are easily applied to life.

Communication, what actually creates the barriers? It is possible that there are many factors, the so called battle of the sexes, education, knowledge or lack of it, experience...ah yes I would say experience is key to our communication skills. I have taken the same situation and reviewed it over the years and as I mature, I see the weakness of my skills to listen as well as my lack of experience dealing with a particular moment in time.

Everyone wants a clear cut decision, I myself have wanted to see life in black and white, the yes and no of it all. We play with words and our listening action all the time. TV, radio, songs, books, children, family, friends, stopping at a restaurant for breakfast, dealing with our colleagues and the list goes on. I find that everyone I come in contact with has some lesson that unfolds before me, maybe not necessarily at that moment but somewhere along the journey they snap like a piece of a puzzle into place.

The importance of listening came about today based on something I neglected a long time ago. I was buffering my heart and didn't want to accept the truth. The truth had always been there and I refused to listen. There are no right and wrong times or actions, everything that happens, happens for a reason. Sometimes it is a matter of denial and not necessarily a matter of complications but a sense of sorting through it all and understanding what life is all about.

I think of all weaknesses, interpretation is that which needs strengthened and is done so by responding and questioning and actually removing the fears of reality. When silence reigns we fall victim to our own wandering mind. Why was it so difficult to ask? There are many reasons we fear the response, one we already know the answer, two, we don't want to know the answer,or three there really is no answer. With truth we unlock the gateway to communication and we find that there is little room for misinterpretation and that we respect and enjoy life in a heightened sense of awareness.

I am Okay!!!