Silence is a powerful thing…
"The Silent Canary Speaks"
I am going to preface this story with a bit of perspective. I started writing it in June 2020. That's where it begins. We were in the midst of protests following the death of George Floyd and what we know now was only the beginning of Covid lockdowns. Now I need to finish it because I am committing to finish a million little things this year and to write more, and because, well, I think there are essential things in here I want to share.
While dashing through Pennslyvania a few months ago, I stopped for what was, to brief a moment in the dark, to visit a friend and fellow artist Rachel Sager and The Ruins Project. Before venturing out with flashlights to see the ruins, we made a quick stop in the studio, where I was caught a little off guard by her newest piece, "The Silent Canary." It is powerful, beautiful, and dark all at the same time. Its dark silence spoke to me in a way that I couldn't stop thinking about.
Rachel is a coal miner's daughter. Her message seems easy to discern, knowing that, but there's more. It is dark and haunting. It speaks of oppression, death, confinement, censorship of free speech, the delicacy of life, and yes, silence and/or being silenced.
The need to be silent right now is the opposite of everything most people are feeling. We all want to speak freely, but do we? Can we? Should we? Will we? When it comes to silence, there are so many things to contemplate. These days silence is discussed as a beautiful tool of meditation and mindfulness. In silence, we can all grow and learn. While this is true, silence is more often used as a weapon than a tool.
Silence is a powerful thing and offers so many things to ponder. How do we use our silence? What silences us? What do we do that silences others? How much silence is there in our lives?
We often use the silent treatment, refusing to communicate with those we care about the most. Why do we do it? To avoid conflict, because we don't know how to express our feelings or to punish and or exert power and control over them. The reality is:
“Distance doesn’t separate people, silence does.” ~ Jeff Hood.
As we become silent, so do those around us. It ripples out quietly, each ripple a deadly blow deafening the voice of change, of progress forward, of resolution. It's not only true of our personal relationships and our relationship with society and the world. If we are silent in the face of injustice, abuse of power, inequality, corporate or political greed, we give away our power. If we use our voice, others will use theirs.
As individuals, we can and should use silence as a tool for growth. In our silence, we can see the need for change from within. Quietly looking within gives time to see the change we want to create in ourselves and the world around us. In silence, we find our truth and give form to our own voice of change.
There are days I will be silent but more days I will not, and every day from now on, as I walk past this canary hanging in my home, I will ponder silence, its power, and how I will use it.
Artist's Side Note: When I asked about purchasing The Silent Canary, I don't think Rachel was ready to let it go. I can relate. I have held back tears at the sale of pieces that were important to me, art that held pieces of my soul, but there is a point you realize, it touches the soul of the one taking it home in the way you intended. Rachel's skills as a mosaic artist are undeniable. Great art has a message, her ability to convey her message with glass and stone and remnants of the world is what makes it truly exceptional.
If you are interested in art, art environments, coal mining, mosaics, or things of vision, go to The Ruins! Let her tell its story.
