We argue with ourselves all the time. May the better part of us be victorious. I argue with others all the time. May the better part of me be silent.
Just a thought, 4
Painting courtesy Dionis Baixeras, Knitting, 1888, Google Images Wikimedia Commons
Sharon Lynne Bonin-Pratt began her writing career the way so many others have done: by first doing everything else. Winning entries in grade school art, story, and essay contests convinced her to become a writer, but the real world intruded in adulthood and demanded she pay bills, raise kids, be a contributing member of the community. Along that rutted path she worked in the commercial art field designing patterns for surfer shorts, bikinis, and Hawaiian style shirts, taught after-school art through a city recreation program, and structured an art curriculum for three private schools. Ten years ago the writing muse, struggling to breathe in letters to friends and art articles, found its way to the surface. In a two-week period Shari wrote 60 pages of her first historical novel, and didn’t stop for three years. By then a second book demanded paper – OK, computer space – and now the third is in final revision stage. Of course, final revision is two words with a long shadow and a little footprint. Some folk claim they will write when the floors get vacuumed, the family accounting completed, the new garden planted. Shari is proof that all those things can be successfully ignored but not the urge to write. Her fiction explores human relationships, revenge, rage, forgiveness, redemption, and all the labyrinthine quandaries that mess up otherwise perfect lives. She resides in Southern California with her husband who’s learned to vacuum but not to cook. And the garden needs help.
Sharon Bonin-Pratt's Ink Flare 
Comments on: "Silence" (19)
Good reminders.
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Yes, first to myself.
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Some of my favorite thoughts on silence are from Dag Hammarskjold –
“We all have within us a center of stillness surrounded by silence.”
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This is beautiful – I will remember it. Thanks for sharing, Clare.
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Usually, I can agree with whoever I am with. However, there are certain people who just naturally provoke me into an argument. It is only through great effort I can stop myself from speaking in their presence. I do not know why this is. It is not that they are unpleasant.
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And that is exactly why I wrote this – a reminder that it’s not required for me to always speak. You saw right through me, Glynis.
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I’ve actually been thinking I need to argue back more often. I hate confrontation, tend toward passivity, and I think that may be the wrong approach (now I figure this out, 50 years later).
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Jacqui, there are times when people should defend themselves. You’ll have to determine when to speak up, when to hold your tongue, and not let it grate you either way. The last part is what’s really important and almost impossible to predict.
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WOWZA!!! This is something I would like to reblog . . . and just might when I stop procrastinating. Do you have a good saying about procrastination?
re: Jacqui’s response
I think there’s a difference between arguing, differing opinion and healthy discourse. I applaud the two Republican woman senators who didn’t argue but publicly stood up for their beliefs in the face of opposition. No matter the viewpoint we women should be less afraid to speak our own truth, whatever that may be.
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I completely agree with you, Judy. There are times to speak up, especially when defending those who are helpless or who speak against any injustice or outrage. I was mostly thinking of times when I speak too quickly, before I’ve given fair and thoughtful consideration to a situation.
I also treasure the passage in Torah, in Kings 19, where Elijah searches through a storm but cannot find God, for God is not found in a great wind, (perhaps a tornado or cyclone) a violent earthquake, or a raging fire. Finally Elijah finds God in a soft, murmuring voice, the still small voice within. It has been called the voice of silence. The implication is that God is always there in our hearts. God speaks to everyone if we are willing to listen. We don’t need drama or destruction to find God, only the patience to listen quietly. My thought is a reminder to myself that I often accomplish more when I close my mouth and open my ears and heart.
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Ah yes, and Amen. Prayer is speaking to God, meditation is listening to God. The murmur within can be heard the loudest when we come from compassion and love. Thank you for the reminder.
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I love this, Judy, thank you for the illumination.
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So wise …
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Thank you, Bonnie. I’m trying.
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I do this, too. Anything I really need to remember, I blog about it. That helps me stay accountable to myself. 🙂
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The simple and true brilliance of this goes so well with your wisdom and guidance. Love this, Shari.
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Thank you, Audrey. A reminder to myself – just hush and listen.
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I love the first wish. May the better part of us be victorious
When fighting it’s hard to see what is better or worse.
Have a calm victorious day
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Thanks, Eliza, I wish the same for you.
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