Words surround my life.
I have a child who talks non-stop most of the time. I have a constant narrative in my head that I have to consciously turn off to focus on the child who talks non-stop. I write emails, talk on the phone, do interviews, get other people to talk. Then in the silence that I try to create for myself, I find my brain filling with questions, stories, ponderings, and so on.
Words, words, words.
It is fun to try to define oneself. It is why personality quizzes are so enjoyable. To find a box that we fit in, and to discover that we aren't alone in that box can actually be freeing. To find a label for ourselves, understand ourselves, create ourselves gives us a sense of control over our lives and the interpretation of our world. So we use words to find where we fit and who we are and what we want to be.
Are those words, or are they just noise?
But in the noise of words, there are other sounds, sometimes drowning out the words: fans that create auditory phantoms of children crying in the night, music providing a soundtrack for my life, and sometimes the words are so constant they become noise, not words.
In all the noise, I must stop talking. I must find silence. And I must let that silence fill me.
And in that silence words change. Instead of noise, the words have layers of meanings. The silence frees me to listen, and listening brings life. They paint pictures of the people on the inside of the people I see. They tell stories of people who have roots in reality even though the live in a fictional realm. They sing songs of joy, sorrow, praise, and worship. The seeds of thoughts can become blooms of understanding.
No more words. Just silence. Listen.
