In my research for the work I came across a sentence that struck me. Namely, ‘Aboriginal people are not threatened by silence.’
My research and face to face work with the elders also revealed the following information about Aboriginal people:
– Their interaction style involves: Watching, listening, waiting . . . then acting.
– They listen by watching the whole body to determine truth, fear and friendliness.
– Relationships are more important than time.
– The land is a part of a person. When the person goes away the land misses the person – and the person misses the land.
– When the land is destroyed, it is never the same.
Your CALL to action/HOW to apply for this post: In the next seven days, in one interaction per day, ‘Honour silence’. For example, this could be allowing a pause gap to extend a second or two longer during an interaction. Reflect on this honouring of silence. How does it makes you feel? What is its impact on your interactions?
Check out this prior post entitled: ‘Dignity – an extremely powerful pose