But For Filled Silence

Summary

The web content reflects on the devaluation of language in modern communication, emphasizing the loss of meaning and the need to rediscover genuine connection.

Abstract

The article "But For Filled Silence" laments the decline of meaningful language, where words have become as abundant and thoughtlessly given as bouquets of flowers, losing their power to convey genuine emotion or intent. It suggests that language has suffered from inflation, requiring more words to express simple messages, and that the inability to communicate effectively leads to a loss of empathy. The author posits that non-verbal communication has also diminished, leaving people feeling lonely and disconnected, with words becoming more myth than reality. The piece calls for a renaissance of valuing true connections and each other, advocating for a return to communication that is felt and experienced beyond the superficial exchange of words.

Opinions

The author believes that words have lost their significance due to overuse and lack of thoughtfulness, leading to a breakdown in communication.
There is a concern that language's effectiveness is eroding, with words becoming meaningless sounds devoid of the ability to transport the intended message.
The article suggests that the devaluation of language is akin to economic inflation, where more words are needed to express what was once conveyed simply.
The author expresses that the decline of meaningful language contributes to the death of empathy, as experiences that cannot be articulated are deemed purposeless.
A belief is conveyed that non-verbal communication is also suffering, further isolating individuals in a world already struggling with verbal connection.
The piece concludes with an optimistic view that it is possible to relearn the value of true connection and to prioritize meaningful interactions over the empty noise of contemporary discourse.

But For Filled Silence

Bouquets of words given so easily and with little thought for every occasion.

Countless petals once numbered to predict whether a love was promising now fall to the ground without benefit of count, left to be thoughtlessly trodden under foot.The power of language leaks out a little more each day and soon it will no longer be able to get us where we want or need to go.

Words will become things thrown about due to habit formed where once they held meaning. Now meaningless, nothing but sounds that bump together accidentally, heads nodding while minds are elsewhere, words diluted, disintegrated, dissolved, dispersed.

where once meaning stood we stand alone with others words hemorrhage bleed out

Not even language can escape inflation, the currency requiring hundreds or thousands of spoken units to equal a single simple message. Empathy dies bit by bit for what is experienced but can’t be communicated has no purpose. First, non verbal finds its place but then it too falls away, fades, vanishes. Now powerless and lonely, words are no longer so much remembered as believed to be urban myth.

facial gymnastics bodily gyrations rule vocal pause resounds

We must now begin again, learning to value true connection, learning to value each other.

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Original Haibun

But For Filled Silence

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