{"id":4995,"date":"2015-07-21T08:16:14","date_gmt":"2015-07-21T12:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=4995"},"modified":"2015-07-21T08:21:45","modified_gmt":"2015-07-21T12:21:45","slug":"the-sound-of-silence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=4995","title":{"rendered":"the sound of silence"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"photo-1433959352364-9314c5b6eb0b\"<\/a>In the first published novel by Nicholas Sparks, \u201cThe Notebook,\u201d which is based on a true story, the author pens the following:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sit silently and watch the world around us. This has taken a lifetime to learn. It seems only the old are able to sit next to one another and not say anything and still feel content. The young, brash and impatient, must always break the silence. It is a waste, for silence is pure. Silence is holy. It draws people together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking. This is the great paradox.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Silence\u2026 the beauty of silence. Like Sparks, I\u2019m not sure we\u2019ve embraced its beauty. Our brashness and impatience often prompts us to speak out\u2026 often glaringly, selectively.<\/p>\n

Sometimes we fall prey to being selectively silent. For example, we may be boldly comfortable condemning the shooter in one senseless setting \u2014 but in another, because we identify emotionally with the aggrieved, we quietly instead pray for mercy (\u2026why not condemn both acts \u2014 not people \u2014 and pray for all crime-committers \u2014 praying for truth to enter those messed up places in their minds and hearts that obviously led to the heinous acts?)\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

We are selectively silent when we are comfortable only calling out one kind of people or partisan group\u2026<\/p>\n

We are selectively silent when we are comfortable proclaiming that only one kind of life matters\u2026<\/p>\n

In other words, we are selectively silent. We seem silent when it serves our own purposes \u2014 albeit arguably, blindly.
\nAllow me to humbly share a few sentences on what the Intramuralist chooses to be silent about and why\u2026<\/p>\n

I am selectively silent on Donald Trump \u2014 not on his presidential candidacy; in fact, pompous as he appears, I do appreciate the fact that he doesn\u2019t seem to avoid any topic \u2014 unlike most announced candidates thus far, save maybe Fiorina, Rubio, and Sanders. But I am silent in regard to the disrespect Trump too often utilizes in his word choice. Why? Because I feel it doesn\u2019t deserve any more attention.<\/p>\n

I am selectively silent on The Huffington Post\u2019s decision to no longer report on Trump\u2019s campaign in their political coverage. Why? Because the bias within sites that wish to be considered respected news sources wears me out\u2026 from all sides.<\/p>\n

I am also selectively silent on the hypocrisy laced within selective silence; for example, the world watched when Pres. Obama made multiple heartfelt statements, openly grieving for the Trayvon Martin\u2019s and Freddie Gray\u2019s of this world, but then said nothing after innocent Kathryn Steinle was killed by an illegal alien\u00a0who had been deported multiple times. Why do I choose to be silent? Because it grieves me\u2026 but I\u2019m certain, too, there\u2019s a bit of a plank in my own eye, as I have been blinded \u2014 and there have been times, too, when my blindness has caused me to see only what I\u2019ve wanted \u2014 only identifying with some\u2026 not all.<\/p>\n

There is thus a beauty in silence \u2014 in the totality of silence, not in the strategic or blind selectivity. Silence causes us to pause, step back, and recognize our own pockets of hypocrisy.<\/p>\n

This past weekend I attempted to practice this a little more \u2014 being still. I took some extended, intentional time to get away, be out in nature, celebrate, fellowship, pray\u2026 and focus on what\u2019s good and true and right\u2026
\n\u2026focusing on what\u2019s good\u2026 wrestling with the truth\u2026 gently pulling out the planks\u2026 listening to others\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026and embracing the paradoxical beauty of silence.<\/p>\n

Note: this may take a lifetime to learn.<\/p>\n

Respectfully\u2026
\nAR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the first published novel by Nicholas Sparks, \u201cThe Notebook,\u201d which is based on a true story, the author pens the following: \u201cWe sit silently and watch the world around us. This has taken a lifetime to learn. It seems only the old are able to sit next to one another and not say anything … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “the sound of silence”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-event"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4995"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5002,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4995\/revisions\/5002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}