A Unique Choice of Words

The world of quiet......

Recently a good friend was in the throes of an ear infection, and described her ordeal as living in the world of quiet.

The words remained in my mind, and I wondered how often we all retreat into that silence and not because of auditory problems.

When we refuse to hear another's subtle yearning for help, whether socially or in the wider scope of life, haven't we retreated into such a world?

How often have I turned my thoughts away from an unpleasant problem preferring to dwell on something easier to solve. What to cook for dinner perhaps?

I think back with sadness about how many relationships ended because one or the other of us refused to confront the other's anger or displeasure or perhaps rebellion? Rather than face another's volatile emotion, we chose silence and eventually lived to regret the loss of a relationship.

I grew up in a world of silence. There were so many family secrets, none truly of any consequence. I wonder sometimes where or how it began, possibly with my grandparents shielding themselves from criticism. In a sense it was similar to the current saying, "What goes on in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas."

What went on in a tenement stayed within the tenement, and so the walls of secrecy grew higher and higher.

As I grew older, I asked many questions. Nothing earth shattering, just with a child's innocent curiosity. None were ever answered, and to this day the history of a family is blank.

Then comes the larger question. How often have I shut out the traumas of today's world, both politically and sociologically? Choosing instead to live in my own world of quiet, peaceful, easy and yes, to a degree isolated.

When we ignore another's loneliness and pretend we are unaware, isn't that another retreat? If there are issues that require an opinion, and we select the more comfortable status of political correctness, haven't we once again chosen a world of quiet? Doesn't this simple phrase describe more than silence, but possibly a choice of departure from reality or controversy? Or perhaps, a world of selfish insulation.

Sometimes just listening makes me think. My friend had no idea of the scope of self examination her unique choice of words provoked.