Aselin

Due to the aforementioned plague, I lost my voice. Not the kind of ‘lost my voice’ I’ve endured before where my voice merely sounded like I was Peter Brady going through puberty. No, this time it was completely gone. If I took unbearably large breaths I could make a few audible squeaks, but this required the lung capacity of a professional tubaist, which I am not. So mostly I fell silent.

The kids loved it. Suddenly they had a valid excuse for not hearing me. Their dreams had come true. Fortunately, I have seen the Sound of Music a few times and quickly adopted the communication style of Captain Von Trapp. Whistling for each of the kids with numerical blasts representative of their birth order. This new summons also brought soldier-like efficiency. After a few short blasts one of the kids would immediately appear. It was like magic.

I’ve got a few friends who struggle with their voices. One gets botox injections in the vocal cords to alleviate her malady. All I can say is after going through a day not being able to make a sound, I can see why someone would endure such treatment. Though it would take a bit of bravery to sit still for the injection.

I’m pretty sure my symptom is merely the celestial suggestion that I just shut up for a while. Normally my brain operates like a humming bird on speed. My mouth is often close behind. Nothing useful unfortunately. If I had put my mental energy to use, I might have a few patents right now, cured a disease or at least cleaned up my office. All I’ve got to show for it are bags under my eyes and a a notebook of Seussical diagrams.

But this recent quiet has caused me to reflect a little. One of my favorite (albeit ignored) scriptures is “Be still, and know that I am God.” Ps 46:10 There is something powerful in stillness. Yet I rarely engage in it unless I’m in yoga class or church. I always enjoy it and then blather on with my day.

This disease imposed stillness has left me isolated, frustrated, resigned and ultimately peaceful. I’ve found this cycle is the way I deal with most of my life, and if I would voluntarily be a little more still I am confident I would get to ‘peaceful’ a lot faster.