I've had an interesting 2 weeks here. I am overloaded with school work and my job and trying to find time to keep in touch with everyone back home, but I am quite satisfied with my time here.
A large part of this weeks topic in my Reflective Woman class is the ability to be heard. Some of my favorite quotes from the book thus far are,
"We must help the oppressed be listened into speech."
"Your silence will not protect you."
"It is our shared commitment toward a world in which the inborn potentialities of so many women's minds will no longer be wasted, raveled-away, paralyzed, and denied."
I've cried over this book on multiple occasions. I'm quite emotional, but its hard when you know you have been that passive girl, allowing yourself to be walked over. And it isn't easy, which is sometimes misunderstood. And most of all, being silent will not make it easier.
But I have a hard time grasping why silence is considered so negative. Sometimes we need to let ourselves be silent. Its hard to listen and speak; how can I listen for the changes necessary when trying to speak them at the same time? Being silent in fear is a negative thing. But being silent in awe, and being silent to let others speak, and being silent so you can embrace the world around you? That is definitely a necessary part of living, that should not be ignored either.
Silence has a sound. We just have to learn to listen for it.
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I like your thought, that silence should never be seen as a simple negative. Frequently I hear angry, bitter, hate-filled voices insisting that they are "speaking truth to power" or whatever the favored catch-phrase of the year may be, when in fact what they are doing is spewing indiscriminate anger and frustration at whoever stands in front of them. People and events are seldom all-bad or all-good, but we no longer seem to value the thoughtful assessment and analysis that allows us to differentiate the good parts from the bad. Instead we insist on an all-or-nothing, good-or-evil, I-am-right/you-are-wrong quick and easy answer to everything. It was never thus, and it is not so now. I am glad your course is giving you the space and time to consider alternatives.
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