Some of the strangest things forgotten by that Australian Blog Bloke. 2014 |
Isn't it amazing what humans can and will do, if pressed to acts of desperation? Rightly or wrongly, we can accelerate to unheard of lengths, leap to unprecedented extremes, whatever the plight, if enough force is present, or enough motivation exists to overcome every limit, even the impossible. When this happens to those people with certain disabilities, and there is a pressing need, or a requirement that cannot or will not be ignored, there is a language spoken by not speaking. The existence of this language has been in my mind for a while, as I grapple with attempts to communicate non verbally, in my job. I was provoked to a lot of thought, and will continue to worry this bone of an invisible set of problems, that must necessarily be manipulated into some sort of solution. There are many thousands of people, foot ball stadiums choka block of people, crowds, multitudes- to use a common biblical phrase, of those unable to speak any audible language. They also don't have the connections in their brains whereby they can use many, if any, gestures or other hand signals to put their thoughts across to another person. The need is usually great. We who can speak take for granted how easily and speedily we can have even our most frivolous want attended to very smartly thank you very much. Try pinching someone else's parking spot at Woolworths or Kmart and hear how people can effectively communicate, very clearly, how they feel about your presence. That space is theirs. As we met with family members, at a local park to enjoy some of that meal that most everyone on this planet can relate to in some form, Fish & Chips, I was in the usual deep discussion of different theories and suchlike, of the known universe, and a bunch of imagined ones, with our daughter. Yes, the one who dressed up for the Year 10 leavers celebration. As she was doing the physics / gravity / pendulum research, rocking herself back and forth on the swings, we talked about the various views and perspectives of language, among other sober subjects, such as how creepy it would look if we tied a mannequin to the swing set and with a solar powered electric motor, left it swinging away, staring vacantly, it's body stiff and "normal" from a distance, yet somehow off enough that by the end of a week, someone would notice the creepiness, and break out in a sweat of horror. (ie dead person still swinging there like a zombie?) Back on track, (and abandoning that run on sentence that Doppler'd into the distance of infinity), it dawned on me that there is a language we all probably miss because of its very features. Unless we need it, really need it, then we don't even notice that it's there. Of course, its the language of silence. SILENCE. And so, while trying to fathom all the attributes of this thing, this idea, this phenomena, this way of communicating, I ended up poking some notes on it into my iPhone for later. I feel its very thought provoking, as I said, and so I'll just paste here via email, those very notes and my thought steps. Perhaps you can make some sense out of it then. Notes: James Ch 1 V 26 "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain." Control of tongue - language - what if cannot use tongue as most people do. Tongue doesn't work. Hands don't work. Brain doesn't function in traditional way. What then? What language will they use? What language can we use to "speak" to them? How can they communicate? How can we read them? James 4;14 "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotion http://www.csicop.org/si/show/treatise_on_invisible_beings/ Invisible things that we know exist, without tangible proof other than sensing the effects Electricity Wind Heat Pressure Time Things present only in our own consciousness, our own "self", our own body. We know for certain that these things must exist. Yet we cannot see them, only the effects of them being used. Thoughts Imagination Emotions: humour, sorrow, anger, fear, jealousy, envy, covetousness, hatred, love, comradeship, fellowship, compassion, joy, happiness, satisfaction, recognition, puzzlement, confidence, confession, pride, and many more, I'm sure. Mood Creativeness Deceit Arousal Cognition Interpretation Temperament Disposition Personality Motivation Curiosity Temptation Guilt Compulsion Conscious state Conscience Hunches Assumption Memory Talent Dreams Hunger / appetite Observance Conscience Faith Belief Direction Spatial awareness Preferences Self worth Adaptation Fashion Logic Ownership Responsibility Behaviour Experience Sent from my iPhone If all these things can be invisible, yet we are certain they exist, then why is it so hard to take the step in belief in a deity of some sort? ie God? Why is the idea so frowned upon, and derided by some (many?). Some other thoughts on the language of silence. Thoughts. Thought leadership Content curation http://m.marketingprofs.com/opinions/2014/26662/why-curation-matters-to-content Next time you get the opportunity, and it's not too obvious or rude, watch someone else closely. As close as possible. See if you can interpret exactly what they are thinking, and utilise your own feelings and immediate needs. For example. If its a hot day, are you thirsty? Are they thirsty? Are you sneezing from pollen? Are they having problems with an itchy throat? Are they in pain? Are they content? Are they silent from acceptance, even though they are in desperate need? They will speak a language to you using everything they have, but you have to listen to the silence. Sparky |