After minimizing my social media presence & even slowing down here, I am finding that maybe silence is the right way.
We should always speak out against injustice & provide encouragement to others, but how much is actually being heard?
Recently, I watched a documentary on the Beatles, and it honestly challenged my thoughts. You see, they were once the leaders of a counterculture; they promoted peace & love. Yet, as time passed, that counterculture became violent and obsessed with revolution, to see their ideals come to fruition. It seemed almost mirrored to what I see around me now. Modern political movements started out with good intention, but have slowly perverted into violent & revolutionary movements. Revolution is good, but often times it becomes misguided. The intentions that once were are drained out and we are left with this angry & confused superficial shell. "Revolution" was written in response, and the Beatles sang about the need to first focus on fixing yourself & staying calm; it will be alright.
Have you seen those groups with signs on campuses that come and just scream at the students? They don't get their message across, no matter how positive or negative it is. We have lost the ability to listen to one another, because we all just shout at each other. This shouting comes from being afraid to be wrong, or in a state of ambiguity.
I'm always thrown back & forth; I want to be in the march, I want to protest, and I want to sing my songs loudly, but it always turns out to be in vain & only to support my own ego. Peace & silence are the right way. Kindness is the right way.
The first step in noticing this, was my continuous shouting into the void that is Facebook. The general population doesn't want to hear you screaming about what they are doing wrong. They want mind-numbing & pleasurable junk to ingest. We are so set in our beliefs & behaviors, sometimes, that we shut ourselves off to anything that might question our identities or habits in the slightest. So we plug our earbuds in and shout insults back and forth, as a defensive mechanism.
So what is to be done? I think, silence. You can tell a person how amazing they are everyday, but one negative comment will reaffirm their deluded beliefs about themselves. You can teach a whole country, but they will make decisions based on what they feel is right, more than what is logical. The issue is one-way communication. We believe how it should be and we direct statements. People are complex and they are emotional. If you want to affect someone, you have to build a relationship. Once that relationship is built, there is understanding and a willingness to invite conflict & change. That is what counselors do. They sit silently and listen to their patients; when their patients are ready for change, they reach out to the counselor.
I love in the Bible when Yeshua is being accused and framed as something, he simply says "You say that I am." I think he got it! He understood this concept that people are set in their ways. He knew who he was and what he believed, and didn't need to prove it. If you truly believe in something, you don't have to argue to someone about why you are right. Like I said before, that arguing is just a form of fear. What was I trying to prove by constantly writing lengthy posts about my beliefs? It wasn't for people's betterment like I wanted; it was to build up my ego and prove to myself that I had to be right, because I was the loudest.
Here's my practice idea:
If someone accuses you of something - just shrug and say okay.
If someone is preaching at you - just nod and listen.
If you believe something is how it should be - live it before you speak it.
Always choose silence & kindness first. The pendulum is always swinging. There will always be multiple sides to every issue. Accept it and work towards love; love is patient, silent, and kind.