The Power of Nothing: (Audio)
The gauntlet is thrown at your feet. Someone says something so outrageous that you feel the need to respond. You know. Put them in their place. Be the antithesis to their diatribe. Rise to the bait and throw it back in their proverbial smug face with a slant that proves them wrong….oh, so wrong!
Okay. Start that ball rolling and you’ll be in that conversation for longer than is profitable! It’s not that you should not engage, rather, consider all the options for the moment and choose your best self to know how to respond!
There is power in saying something negative to rebut or refute…
But, I think there is often more power in simply saying nothing…
Now. Pause for a moment and let that sink into your core. If someone else is already “handling” it why do you think your two cents are worth more than what’s being done?
We’ve heard this before, and I’m sure it’s been bandied about by many of us, but are we willing to actually do what it says?
“I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig.
You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.”
~George Bernard Shaw.
Verbal sparring, social media back and forth, getting into it with someone… It’s often best to simply say nothing. Stick to your principals. No matter how easy it would be to dismantle someone’s argument. Over the years I’ve taught that there is a generation of sides to any story. You know. 40. There are 40 sides to every story. It all depends on perspective. And presentation.
A few weeks ago I heard a live interview with some political personality. When the news reported it, they had diced and sliced the comments to their own perspective. Had you not known the “rest of the story” as Paul Harvey used to say, then you would have assumed the news broadcaster was simply telling the whole story. Complete. And truthful.
Wait… Flashing news story! Have we not seen this recently with Katy Couric when she interviewed the NRA? They edited the final product so it would have the dramatic effect and you would have thought she caught them red-handed in the moment of confusion. Her question was supposedly that shocking! She later apologized but the damage is done. The unedited recording showed no shocked faces, rather, it showed a group of people quick to respond.
Imagine Jesus responding to every critic. He could have proved everyone wrong with the right word at the right time. Apparently, He chose not to so that prophecy would be proven out. He was challenged to defend himself, but he remained silent.
“But Jesus held his peace…” Matthew 26:62
Other translations replace the word “peace” with “silent”. The original language describes this quietness as if it were a “muteness” or inability to speak. It’s not that he bit his tongue to not say anything, he simply remained silent. His thoughts were kept to himself.
Our problem is often we want to speak out. Quickly. Refute. Defend. Prove the error of the offender. Attack!
What happens? You get just as dirty as that proverbial pig previously and you feel dirty even if vindicated.
Over the past year of presidency, I’ve learned to quit paying attention to the news. Totally. It’s all negative and there is nothing of value being presented because so much of it is slanted a certain direction. This shows how far we have split as a nation! In fact, it seems the news only brings out the ugliness of all sides. It’s too easy to join the fray and be no different, regardless of which side of the argument you are on.
Look how many people have been drawn in to say too much, purposefully, or accidentally. From comedians to actors, and now to another politician from Missouri. In another context, at another time, yes, even with another president, none would be so irresponsible to speak as they have spoken. Instead of simply doing their jobs, they get embroiled in the conversation and words are spoken that land them in the pig pen with the limelight glowing all around.
We pay the consequences of our words.
In many scenarios, we keep our silence so our personal perspective never comes back to haunt us as we grow into our future selves. Think about your latest job interview. You put your best foot forward and you control your response so that you will hopefully get the job you are seeking.
It’s not that you must secretly be on one side of the coin or the other, but when you start applying for future opportunities and your life is under the magnifying glass, then everything you’ve said and done is scrutinized. Especially social media. That’s about the most visible representation most of us have to complete strangers around the world.
Remember all those words we learned to use back in school days? Well, those words have the power to destroy our own selves! Often, more easily, we are our own worst enemy!
Be what you are. Choose your political party. Define your personal viewpoints. Be who you are. Just be careful getting into any conversation that has no positive way of defining you to the future.
And that future is as quick as the next second of your life!