After struggling for a long time about what to write about this week, I found myself stuck. What does it all mean? I've read so many articles, heard so many stories, seen so many pictures of everything going on all around the world and I have arrived at a point of just plain silence. I mean everything going on, Paris, Starbucks, etc. What does it mean? What is true? What is right? How does this affect my life? What does right even mean? How will this affect the life of my future children and grandchildren? What does this mean for our future? I'm not talking about the kind of silence that renders action, but the silence that prefaces meaningful change. The kind of silence that allows you to understand the situation and the world around you.
"If you don't understand my silence, how will you understand my words?"
Honestly, my mind is overwhelmed with so many thoughts and emotions I feel like I don't even know how to form full, intellectual sentences; and I feel like I am not alone. In that respect, let us use this time to reflect on our own lives. What are we doing and what can we be doing to make the world a better place? Silence is not a bad thing. Silence doesn't mean we are ignorant or unresponsive. It means the exact opposite, it means you are thinking before you are sharing your opinions with the world. Silence is respectable. Take some time to respect yourself and figure out what this world means to you. Do me a favor and ask yourself these ten questions:
If you woke up tomorrow, with no fear, what would you do?
What is your number one priority?
How do you really know anything for sure?
What do you think stands between you and complete, utter happiness?
If you were at Heaven's gates and God asked "why should I let you in," what would you say?
What would people say about you at your funeral?
Do you practice self-love or self-loathing?
Really, what do you have to lose if you just go for it?
At what time in your recent past have you felt the most passionate and alive?
How different would your life be if there weren't any criticism in the world?
Think about these things, think about yourself and your actions before you judge the moves of others. Form your own opinions and thoughts, before you read the words of others and let them influence you. Literally, we are all in this together so make sure you know who is talking before you start.
Silence allows you to think. Silence allows your mind and heart to sort things out. Silence gives us time to honor the lives lost. Silence allows us to put ourselves in the shoes of someone else. Sometimes silence means more than words. Silence is at the forefront of thinking before you speak. Silence is underestimated and certainly not used enough in today's world. Today, take the time to learn about yourself, to honor loved ones and strangers who have been innocently struck by death, to pray for those who are lost and to be the guiding light that the rest of the world needs to be completely, peacefully; silent.
