Inspired by Robert Frost’s poem yesterday, I wrote the following poem. But before we get into that, I want to share a little bit about silence. I spoke with my cousin last night who was distraught upon finding out her best friend had been hit by a car. He was seriously injured, but alive. She told me about how when she found out, she called multiple friends but no one answered. She felt “alone in the universe, I just felt like I was left floating there.”
I remember this feeling back in my depression, I felt so alone and unheard, unwanted and living in fear. Just as she was. I explained to her that the unhealthy side of our brains, the parts of us unhealed, hurting, the addictions, the self-indulgences, the justifications, the instant gratifications, etc. That side always tells us bad things. Our brains are hardwired to make us feel better – at whatever the cost. When we were hungry as primal creatures, our brains would solve problems to get us nourishment. When we needed shelter, we would creatively find a solution. That has not changed, only our problems have.
We now need to be “perfect;” warm, comfortable at all times, loved by everyone, successful, eat the most balanced diet, post only the most beautiful pictures on Instagram, and have the most loving and adoring relationship. This list goes on and on. Our brain is constantly trying to give us the best solutions to all of our problems. For those of us who have unhealthy tendencies; eating to cope with stress, suicidal thoughts, using sex, drugs, alcohol, etc. It’s very easy to let that side have the loudspeaker. But there is another side.
The healthy side, in that moment for my cousin, was telling her to take some silence. No one answered the phone calls, but the universe answered the real call. Be quiet in your grief, in your fear, in your hurt. She wasn’t alone in the universe, because she was WITH the universe. And this beautiful world wanted her to make a healing wish for her friend and for herself. Sometimes, silence is the answer. That is where we grow, evolve, learn and understand ourselves more fully.
Our greatest strength, our greatest wisdom and our greatest kindness is silence. That is our original song. Silence and love.
The Original Song
Never have I met someone like you
Apologetically heroic while healing hearts.
Kind severity that stares straight through
Unabashed, unadulterated, a destiny long overdue,
Spoken softly, a secret of honey burns at our hearths.
Love letters left on pillowcases,
Sunsets seeping from the text;
A humanity overwhelmed with familiar faces,
Flowers filling up the blank spaces –
In between the places like lovers might suggest.
Words falling short and gracelessly falling out,
Inexplicable in nature, what a marvel you are
Like God himself is even devout.
The land lacking light, without and in drought
And then you, like Renoir, painted the sky with heaven’s first star.
Purpose and Prose 