SOUND OF SILENCE
- Details
- Created on Friday, 04 February 2011 22:26
- Written by Marian Moore
KRYSAN
THE WELLBEING CONSULTANCY
Planting Golden Seeds in Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, and Durham
________________________________
The Sound of Silence
Dear Friends,
THE SOUND OF SILENCE
"Everything changes once we identify with being the witness to the story, instead of the actor in it."RAM DASS
These words from spiritual teacher Ram Dass have brought comfort to many people dealing with life's dark thoughts brought on by life's dark experiences. We all have these at one time or another, and I hope that the wisdom of this quotation strikes a chord in you, as it has in me. I'll come back to that some other time, but basically it means living in the power of now ...
While you wait for a little more action from me on this score, click on the link below to enjoy some beautiful Gregorian music, and consider your stance on the underlying issues. These issues are still current in today's world, a world where innocent people continue to suffer because of the colour of their skin, or because of their religious beliefs, or simply because they are women.
The recognised source of most of this trauma and unhappiness lies in old, out-dated attitudes and beliefs that are a throw-back to a bye-gone age. They are but the lingering echoes of the fear of 'the other', a fear that remains buried in the psyche of people living in societies throughout the world - rich and poor.
I speak for all the world's children when I invite you to plant the golden seeds of tolerance and forgiveness in hearts and minds - even love. Start with your own self. Let us try to educate ourselves and our loved ones to enjoy the differences in and between people. Surely, it is the differences that makes us, individually and collectively, uniquely and preciously, human.
We're all in this together and the Earth clock is ticking ever onwards. Now, click on the link and please listen to ...
You may be interested to know that, 'Sound of Silence' is the song that propelled the 1960s folk music duo Simon and Garfunkel to popularity. It was was written in February 1964 by Paul Simon in the aftermath of the 22 November 1963 assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy'. (Wikipedia)
Here are the words of the song, Sound of Silence by Paul Simon (1964). You might wish to read and silently appreciate this gift to a grieving world - for that is what the words represented then and what they represent now.
SOUND OF SILENCE
Hello darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left it's seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
'Neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dare
Disturb the sound of silence.
'Fools' said I, 'You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you.'
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the sign said, 'The words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.'
And whisper'd in the sounds of silence.In concluding, I would mention that Simon and Garfunkel's composition first entered my consciousness a few years ago. It was then I discovered the link between the words of the song and something that concerned me sorely at that time. Listen to the words again, and you might just hear what I as a voice hearer recognized in the sound of silence.
Imagine if it were you ...
"The voices I heard came suddenly, and seemingly out of nowhere, during the lowest and loneliest time of my life. When my time of need was gone, they simply melted quietly away." MOORE, 2010
I'm not afraid now, but I was then. I was afraid for many years until I discovered for myself the truth behind the statement, there's nothing to fear but fear itself. And so, fear became love and that's who I am. But, that's a story for the telling on another day.
Perhaps you will now better comprehend why someone who was once a schoolteacher today earns her living as a storyteller. To my way of thinking, teaching and storytelling are the same difference and, thanks to the Internet (and you, my friend) my classroom is now in the world stage.
Finally, here are a few more words that we might learn from - whichever corner of the world we come from, no matter how old we are, or to which faith we may (or may not) belong,
Don't walk in front of me,
I may not follow.Don't walk behind me,
I may not lead.Just walk beside me, and be my friend.
And, that's as good a place as any to end this discussion. Thank you, once again, for joining me and for staying with me until the end ...
I remain, sincerely yours
Marian @ Krysan
... or not quite the end! You are invited to read and inwardly digest these wise and timeless words by poet T S Eliot:
LITTLE GIDDING
(No. 4 of 'Four Quartets')
V
What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from. And every phrase
And sentence that is right (where every word is at home,
Taking its place to support the others,
The word neither diffident nor ostentatious,
An easy commerce of the old and the new,
The common word exact without vulgarity,
The formal word precise but not pedantic,
The complete consort dancing together)
Every phrase and every sentence is an end and a beginning,
Every poem an epitaph. And any action
Is a step to the block, to the fire, down the sea's throat
Or to an illegible stone: and that is where we start.
We die with the dying:
See, they depart, and we go with them.
We are born with the dead:
See, they return, and bring us with them.
The moment of the rose and the moment of the yew-tree
Are of equal duration. A people without history
Is not redeemed from time, for history is a pattern
Of timeless moments. So, while the light fails
On a winter's afternoon, in a secluded chapel
History is now and England.With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this
CallingWe shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, unremembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.
Quick now, here, now, always—
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)
And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well
When the tongues of flame are in-folded
Into the crowned knot of fire
And the fire and the rose are one.T S ELIOT, LITTLE GIDDING
(No. 4 of 'Four Quartets')
Hello,
THE MANDALA OF BEING
I am currently enrolled in an interesting on-line course by Dr. Richard
Moss called The Mandala Of Being. This is a FREE 5 week course designed
to inspire, enlighten and encourage us to live in the present moment,
and find the beauty of today. I thought you might enjoy it, too. You can
check it out at www.richardmoss.com and click on the icon that says
"FREE 5-week e-course".
Well worth the effort.Best WishesMarian
If you are going through a hard time and would like to talk to someone,
the Samaritans will help. The help-line number is given below:
08457 90 90 90
- PAUSE FOR THOUGHT -
4,859 hits : 2015-12-31