(photo courtesy LIFE magazine)
The Right Word
Only the meaningful should come to the lips of those who strive
for higher development. To talk for the sake of talking, for
example to pass the time, is damaging. We should avoid talking
to each other purely for enjoyment. We must, however, not
isolate ourselves from being in contact with other people. In that
kind of contact, our talking must slowly develop into
meaningfulness. We are always ready to talk to others, but
everything we speak must be well thought out and well consid-
ered. Otherwise, it is best to remain silent. One must try to use
neither too few nor too many words. Listen first, and then
The decision to write again has come after much contemplation of this principle. It has challenged me more than I can say. (no pun intended…) How do we reconcile the virtue of silence without retreating into isolation? When we re-enter the world after a time of retreat how do we assure that we do not once more fall into idle chatter and distraction? I can't say with certainty I have found definitive answers to those questions but the guidance given above seems to be a good start.
To talk for the sake of talking…
If care is not taken this could become the very impetus to blog. So, my first challenge has been to discern whether there is something worthwhile to say and what the motivation is for saying it. Are we compelled to share sincerely or to garner an audience or worse, applause?
Susan's thoughts about writing are very like those I have tossed about for weeks now. Certainly anything I could say has been said or could be said better by others. So why am I saying it? That was my question but it occurred to me in the end that none of us ever really thinks the very same thoughts nor experiences life in just the same way. Even those of us who share a worldview will find those values and goals playing out differently in our own lives. For me it is for this reason that it is not only all right but desirable that each of us shares her own perspective.
Everything we speak must be well thought out and well considered…
The very thing that makes electronic communication so appealing – the ability to provide instantaneous response – is also is greatest weakness. While it is a thrill to be able to correspond in real time with those across town or across the planet it does lend itself to poorly considered conversation. In the pen and paper era a letter might was not only written but composed. How often do we really allow ourselves the time necessary to properly compose our thoughts?
We can pick up the phone, shoot off a text message, instant message. An editorial which would previously have taken days or weeks to draft and publish can now be sent into cyberspace within moments of the thought entering one's head so very different from the way people have communicated for most of time.
When I contrast that rather constant chatter with this scenario:
She brought the letter to the tablecloth under the lamp and… they all sat around the table thinking of last things to say while Ma wrote them down with her little red pen that had a mother of pearl handle shaped like a feather. When her neat, clear handwriting filled the paper she turned it and filled it again crosswise. -The Long Winter (Wilder)
I am not sure we are better for the speed. Seems better to:
Listen first, and then process what was heard…
But then to always remember that it is still most desirable to remain silent as much as possible. Ignacio Larranaga tells us that:
All that is definitive is born and consummated in the midst of silence: life, death, the hereafter, grace, sin. All that throbs is always hidden.
God Himself is so silent we are told we must "be still" to know His will. These past months of quiet contemplation of His word have opened my heart to new possibilities. While my tendency has been to give God my laundry list of requests and pleadings, I have instead tried to quiet myself enough to consider what it is He has to say about our life and His will for it. This is helping me to see each event as having come directly from the hand of a loving Father leading us away from ourselves and towards His best.
It takes regular doses of quiet contemplation to keep that focus and those cannot be skipped. This will necessarily preclude excessive surfing. I don't want to lose what I have worked so hard to gain.
The past months have ushered in the promise of profound change for our family – some of which are too uncertain to share just yet. The prospects have been alternately exhilarating and terrifying to consider. Life is changing in totally new and unexpected ways, but continues to be full to the brim with the goodness of God. I hope that in some small way this little corner of cyberspace will help me to document that abundance. So for that reason I am here again, my virtual mother of pearl pen in hand.
Starry Sky Journal 