Silence is not only seen as empty, but also uncomfortable in our culture. Try sitting with someone you don't know very well in silence and more than likely they will try to fill it with mindless chatter just to avoid that "uncomfortable silence."
Through a few traditions I have studied with, silence is the only way to truly listen. Not only to the words being spoken by another person, but also the unspoken (body language, emotional "vibes", environmental observations) and also to messages from Spirit.
I once took a Vipassana course in meditation that involved complete silence for ten days. No speaking to anyone and even eye contact was discouraged. It was a powerful way to get in touch with stillness and connection within myself.
Working with silence has also taught me how powerful words are as tools (and weapons when used with the intention of hurting someone) and should be treated as such. It is beneficial for everyone to be more conscious and deliberate with speech. And since speech works both ways when engaged with another person or people, it is equally important to use that silence to listen.
"
Mainstream Americans are reluctant to speak out in writing, even when it can make a real difference."
I find this statement to be alarmingly true. I myself have always felt more comfortable with speaking one on one and verbally rather than through the written word, but through writing we can usually reach a wider audience.
I went a bit further out of curiosity and found a short youtube video of the author giving a brief overview of why she wrote the book. She mentioned that it often begins in our childhood when external factors work to quiet our voice of dissent. I remember my own school experience as a child feeling like a sequence of remembering and regurgitating facts and having to give the "correct" answers rather than being asked to give a critical thought about a concept and to formulate and articulate my own ideas. This lead me to resist and reject traditional education for a number of years.
I think there are other institutional systems that are existing in a similar fashion. Systems that have relied upon doing things a certain way for so long that the players in the system don't even consider other options or methods. Finding a voice through writing can call out these systems and either introduce new ideas previously not thought of by others. I also think another possibility is giving a voice to concerns that others also have but they have not had the courage to stand up and address.
I've been using this blog so far as a place to do free writing and to put my thoughts down for others to see. This also helps me clear the cobwebs from my brain of being out of the loop of doing a great deal of writing and hopefully will clear the way to further insights.
I was inspired by the speaker this last Monday and her experiences in the Peace Corps. Though I do not feel at this time that the Peace Corps would be the right path for myself (a whole lot of bureaucracy from two countries!), I think that social workers in the United States have a unique ability to help abroad where our services may be relevant and needed. Community development, health care, food scarcity and management are just a few examples of issues that are facing developing nations. I have a strong draw to working outside the U.S. despite the challenges of being hundreds or thousands of miles from my family, friends, and all my comforts at home.
One of our assignments for a class included a review of a social work website and the first section I read was the international social work page. The site not only addressed the issues we often think of when talking about international aid, but also a need to provided services and support for the international workers themselves. I can speak from personal experience about the emotions and challenges of being out of the country in a foreign environment for long periods of time in a working or volunteer capacity. Though the majority of my experience was very positive, there are always stressful days of being pushed out of your comfort zone. Also add on having to witness some very real suffering associated with poverty, hunger, and lack of resources of other people, and you have a prime potential for workers facing loss of motivation or, worst case scenario, a total breakdown. There must be a support network for those supporters and a system of everyone helping each other.
