Having spent the beginning of this semester struggling to find a suitable day to continue my practice of a weekly vow of silence, I have come to a cross-roads in my thesis. There is no single day of my week in which it will be possible to spend the great majority of it in silence and observation, as I am pulled into the world of verbal communication seven days a week through my duties of two jobs (as a study abroad peer adviser at the Center for International Education and as a waitress), a volunteer internship at the Audubon Aquarium in which I am required to interact with guests, and classes in which my success hinges on my participation in group discussion. These difficulties only reinforce the reality that language is a necessity for those who wish to live in and keep up with such a fast-paced modern world that is sustained by the interactions of an increasingly expanding web of human (and other) individuals. Being social animals, each of our survival depends greatly upon our cooperation with the community, and this community has oozed beyond the mere local to become a global supernetwork. And it is not just for our survival, but fulfillment of needs beyond the physical that we must partake. We participate, or perish. This being so, it has come into my awareness through trial that perfect execution of my thesis at a time in which I am not able to withdraw from my social roles is not possible. I must change direction.
And so, I propose a new plan. If I cannot spend large blocks of time the length of a day in silence, I will have to with more intention carve out condensed periods of not-speech. And perhaps this juxtaposition of participation in spoken language and withdrawal in the same day for a given activity will be even more revealing of the truths I seek to uncover with my experience.
If you, the reader, has any recommendations of possible situations I could put myself in during which I would choose to be silent that would be non-detrimental to my work and school lives, I am, appropriately, all ears.
I wonder if part of the issue/challenge is recognizing that verbal language--in your case--is synonymous with culture... or, at least, that such language is inextricable from culture. if so, then perhaps this experiment needs a "counter-experiment": perhaps attending one of Loyola's silent retreats, for example... wherein "silence" is the culture rather than an aberration. (just a thought!)
ReplyDeleteRemain silent unless you can improve the silence!
ReplyDeleteYes Indeed!
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