Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
When one thinks of children, it is inevitable to also think of sounds. Children laugh and cry with vigor. They make happy sounds when they play. They make frustrated sounds when they are tired. They coo. They babble. They gleefully toss small objects all over the house that rattle and clink. Children are a symphony of sounds.
Yet as a mother, I’ve also learned to embrace the profound silence that accompanies parenthood. While children are charming noise makers, they are also masters of nonverbal communication.
When my daughter Ayla needs something urgently, she is more likely to pull on my shirt than to make a sound. Sometimes we pass almost an hour in the bath in joyous silence. And when we wake up in the gray-blue light of early morning, Ayla nurses quietly and then we snuggle, communicating only with our eyes, and our fingertips.
I was not expecting to be quiet with my daughter. I was even more surprised that our unyielding love was forged with silence, rather than with words. Saying the words, “I love you,” seems redundant. Because my love for Ayla rings out, with the greatest force and resonance, when I don’t say anything at all.
Note: This entry is cross-posted at Taz’s Labor of Love blog, www.laboroflove.typepad.com.
About taz.tagore
TAZ TAGORE is a leading social entrepreneur, author and leadership expert. She founded the innovative non-profit The Reciprocity Foundation in 2004, whose work has been highlighted by over 20 newspapers and magazines for excellence and have appeared on five nationally televised shows.
Taz splits her time between Toronto and New York City where alternately parents her daughter in her home town and runs the Reciprocity Foundation. Since it's inception, the Reciproicty Foundation has helped thousands of homeless youth and children to leave the shelter system, attend college and take on leadership roles in the media, fashion, film and education sectors. This year, 6 of the youth from her program were nominated for an Emmy award for creating a documentary about youth homelessness that was originally aired on CW/PIX. Homeless youth from her program have gone on to graduate from FIT/Parsons (and later launched clothing lines and design companies), NYU/Tisch (and become filmmakers, dancers and actors), and CUNY (and later become community activists and mentors to homeless youth). In addition, several youth from her program were featured on America's Next Top Model as part of a national campaign to educate Americans about youth homelessness. For her efforts in the social entrepreneurship sector, Taz was awarded the Echoing Green fellowship and was a finalist for the internationally juried Q Prize.
Taz is also actively writing books, articles and blog posts for a variety of media brands including Deepak Chopra's Intent.com and Beliefnet.com. Her writing focuses on how to live, work and parent mindfully by applying Buddhist teachings and practices to everyday life. Her personal blog Labor of Love (laboroflove.typepad.com) focuses on how Buddhist practices/teachings have helped her become a more loving and aware parent to her daughter Ayla.
Taz also teaches Leadership to senior executives at Fortune 500 corporations and leaders of nonprofit organizations. She also teaches a course on Authentic Leadership at the University of Toronto and guest lectures at a variety of universities and conferences on similar topics.
She continues to practice yoga, meditation and everyday mindfulness, and is so grateful to be alive and actively working for social change in the world.
Very beautiful post I must say. Love is always sensed more than it is felt or expressed in words. Your description of this in context of mother and child is really really beautiful and divine. Thanks for sharing it.
That's lovely Taz.
Quote from your post:-
"Yet as a mother, I