Chamblee54

PG was gifted with a link to an article, Silence Is Not a Vow. The concept is to compare a monk’s vow of silence to a wedding vow. It is a good comparison, if the vows are taken for the proper reason.
Silence can have many benefits for the soul. It is said that prayer is talking to G-d, and meditation is listening. Does anyone know a Jesus worshiper who talks too much?
People who spend time outdoors might have come to a time, during a hike, when no one has anything to say. The majesty of the world is overwhelming, and it is time to be quiet. There is nothing you can say that is as worthy as the sound of the outdoors. Soon, you will hear things… wind whistling through trees, birds chirping, or the pounding of feet. The earth is not a quiet place.
Even the city is full of pleasant sounds. How often do you see someone listening to earplugs, when the birds are singing their feathers off? Dogs barking, planes flying, insects chirping, and cars coming and going… the world is a symphony, and you miss it all when you give your time to itunes.
Light pollution is an issue… with so much light in the enviornment, living things do not have the darkness their nature requires. The same could be said for too much sound. Having too much sound to deal with … either by listening or ignoring… is toxic for the soul. There is an innate need for darkness, and silence.
One problem PG has with this feature is a sentence… “But I’m taking the risk of sharing these thoughts anyway, for I believe that the silence of monastics is a reminder to all people of faith—even those of us who do not live in a cloister—to make room in our lives for at least a modicum of silence, hopefully every day.” The noxious phrase is “people of faith”. We have decided that religion is a bad word, and use faith as a substitute. When you do this, you confuse the meaning of faith, which is a pretty neat concept. (The sentence has 54 words. To write a feature about silence, and include a sentence like that, is ironic.)
Another issue with the phrase “people of faith” is the antonym, “people of no faith”. How can you label one of G-d’s children with a tag like that? How can you know what is in another man’s soul, to say that he has no faith in anything? The semantics of a religion, based on the concept that one book is “the word of G-d”, can make you lose faith in the speaker.
There is a story of a monk, who was allowed to say two words every five years. After five years, he said “bad food”. After ten years, he said “hard bed”. After fifteen years, he said “I quit”. His superior replied, “Good. All you ever do is complain.”
While looking for the videos that go with this feature, PG saw some suggestions from youtube. These include: Jack Kerouac Voice off the Road2:30 Good Times- Jon Schmidt – piano instrumental4:42 Doris Day & Friends talk about the real Doris Day5:51 How Gay Marriage Could End Humanity1:48 It Gets Better: Google Employees7:36 Jack Kerouac American Haiku4:45 A TED speaker’s worst nightmare3:51.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.