Appreciating the Silence: Post Paris, San Bernardino, Orlando

There has been so much talk since the terrible tragedies in Paris, San Bernardino, Orlando.  Throw in Sandy Hook, Tuscon, Aurora...and all the many other places that became synonymous with hate and violence run amok.  Everyone is talking.  But who the heck is doing anything?

Sometimes we just need to stop it all.  We need to go inward.  We need to listen to that still, small voice in all of us.  We need to do this alone.  We need to do this with our friends and our families.  We need to do this at meetings, at nightclubs, at schools, at shopping malls.  We need to just stop the cacophony of yammering and just listen.  We need as I said already, to listen to that still small voice within each of us.  Then we need to listen to the voices of those around us.  Listen.  That's what we need to do, what we must to do, the only thing we can to that will stop the madness.

When we are talking we cannot hear what is being said.  We cannot hear the heartbeat of our surroundings.  We miss the signs of what is bubbling up all around us from the murmuring springs of dissension,  to the erupting volcanos of suppressed rage.  It's all there plain as day.  We just need to be silent a moment to hear it.  The answer is within us all.

I remember hearing many years ago that you cannot legislate morality.  I don't hear that said much any more.  Morality is learned.  We teach it to each other.  Parents hopefully teach it to their children.  Leaders share it with followers who respect them.  Once the proverbial horse is out of the barn, though, it is difficult to bring it back.  Training begins from the time the foal emerges from the mother's womb.  The mother teaches it.  The horse-trainer teaches it.  The other horses bring the young one into line.  It is not unlike a human.  We all must be accountable to help the generations know that they, too, are accountable.

Practice silence.  Turn off the sound of your TV.   You can soon hear much more by watching the faces and gestures and postures of those speaking.  You can even do this with those around you as you listen and observe in silence.

We can change the world one step at a time.  That step begins with ourselves.  Once we hear our inner voices, we can learn to come from a more authentic place.  In being authentic, true to ourselves and others, we can truly make this world a better place, one thought at a time.