No Words! This one more than bugs me. This one takes me down. It often moves me to tears. Frequently, this one causes me to experience ineptitude to a degree almost beyond repair.
You see, some life experiences carry such weight and gravity that no words adequately capture the depth of emotion that accompanies them. To simply say one is “sorry” because another has lost a job or an opportunity or even a loved one sounds hollow and empty. “Sorry” often invites a response of “It’s ok.” There is rarely if ever anything “ok” about a tragedy that befalls another traveler on this planet.
To say, “I know how you feel” is yet another phrase devoid of meaning. How can one truly “feel” what another is feeling in the middle of a tragedy? We cannot! The best we can do is “identify” with what another might be feeling based on our own experience of life. I can relay what might be my parallel experience and only touch the hem of imagining what your experience is.
Still another phrase that is absolutely useless is “It is for the best!” The BEST? For whom? For what? This is a grouping of words that flows from the idea that there has to be some celestial meaning to everything that happens and that that meaning is always “for the best.” How arrogant that we would pretend divine perspective on any given life situation.
Today, life reminded me that there are times when there are just “No Words!” As much as I want to provide comfort or direction or insight, I could not . . . because sometimes there are “No Words!” Today, all of my formal education and self-directed study failed me . . . because sometimes there are “No Words!” Today, I found myself floundering when the eloquence of wisdom would have made me feel better. ME, I said . . . not necessarily the ones in need of comfort.
The reality of life is that sometimes . . . there are simply, “No Words!” When words do not exist, we must offer the best of ourselves. We must learn the Power of Presence. We must stand quietly. Sit patiently. Listen carefully. Touch lightly. We must discover and live the power of “No Words!”
Peace!
Mark E. Hundley
