Deafening Silence – Stop and Listen

deafening silence

Have you ever imagined or experienced the inability to hear sound? How does it feel like to be unable to listen to your favorite song on the radio? How about hearing the sweet voice of your beloved one? If you have ever experienced any of the situations mentioned, I can’t say that I would understand or feel what you feel. I’m not saying this to mock anyone, I’m saying this because I am thankful every day for the privilege of using my senses to full extent.

Attending Special Olympics

I recently attended an event with my wife, that brought children from the local school to participate in Special Olympics. These kids were part of the special education group, and all of them had some form of disability; sight, hearing, vocal and cognitive impairment. This event was organized by the local department of tourism, in cooperation with a few non-profit organizations from the area.

It was organized with a goal of providing these children with an opportunity to experience something unique. Various groups of kids were tasked to perform at this event in different ways. Cognitively impaired kids performed a dance routine, sight impaired kids sang and the vocal and hearing-impaired kids played various instruments to create music.

Surge of Emotions

The head teacher walked out on the stage and announced that the following group will perform two songs, playing instruments like xylophone, drums, cymbals and others. After they all walked out and took their position, the teacher announced that they were deaf and mute. Even though I knew what this event was about, I can’t say that I was ready for what ensued.

They started playing like any other marching band, following the directors’ swings of a stick. The surge of emotions was overwhelming and I was lost for words. They provided people in attendance something that they may never have. Joy of hearing a beautiful song that evokes happiness with every strike of the instrument. Being a music enthusiast, I became more aware of the privileges that I got to experience daily.

deafening-silence-patience-image

Patience to Understand

How do they achieve such organized experience? What kind of patience is required for their teachers to get to do this? How many countless hours of hard work did they go through?

Even now, as I am writing this, I am unable to comprehend the extent of the efforts that were put into organizing these kids. One of my major goals in life is to have patience. Patience to understand that what I have should be cherished and that I need to be thankful for everything I got.

We sometimes do not get to see the other side of life, where people don’t dare look into. That side should be not be feared of, but respected. These kids were given a chance to do something in their life. They were shown that there’s more to life. Most importantly, they were treated as equally as the others.

Stop and Listen

We live in a world full of judgement, hatred and rejection. Instead of looking on how to judge others, we should consider how we can help those who are less fortunate. Next time when you hear your favorite song or the voice of your loved ones, imagine how would it feel like being unable to hear it ever again.

Remind yourself that you have been given a chance to do good, so next time when you get an opportunity to help others, go ahead and do it. Respect the ability to hear and speak, and use those abilities to do good. If you ever catch yourself being alone in a quiet room, stop for a moment and listen to the deafening silence.

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John Todorovic

John Todorovic

This Post Has 53 Comments

  1. kenyanbookjunkie

    I honestly wish that we(human beings) were able to look past each other’s differences and just embrace each other as we are. We are not blessed with everything but we are blessed with things that others are not and vice versa, sight and the ability to hear as well as other senses are things that we take for granted. This post reminds us not to, it reminds us to be grateful for them and at the same time practice compassion towards those that lack them. Great post!

    1. John Todorovic

      Being grateful should be practiced on a daily basis. Thank you for sharing your insight.

  2. Noel

    This is heartwarming and should hit right through everyone’s soul. The indifference should stop as compassion and understanding be nortured and flourished. Thanks for sharing to us this story.

    1. John Todorovic

      Little compassion can go a long way. I am thankful for your appreciative words.

  3. Nevena Hristozova

    We take some of the most wonderful things for granted. And yet – the lack of one does not mean our life should be incomplete. Lovely post!

    1. John Todorovic

      We can and should take the first step in making a difference. Thank you for enjoying the post.

  4. Dawnmarie

    This post is my favorite so far today. I have a heart for the deaf, and so often people do not have patience or understanding. When I worked retail long ago and had a deaf group come to the store, it took me aback how appreciative they were that I even made the effort to communicate with them. I sign but am not fluent. How sad is it that there were people who were happy about something so simple as that someone stopped to make an effort to communicate? Thank you for sharing your experience and your heart. Maybe it will touch someone and help them think about how they treat someone who may be different from them. That is something that we might all be able to do more.

    1. John Todorovic

      Simple things can make our world a wonderful place. I appreciate your kind words.

  5. Erin

    Absolutely brilliant post!

    1. John Todorovic

      Thank you enjoying the read.

  6. carkhanablog

    Often people tend to ignore but that us certainly not the right attitude. All we need is some compassion.

    1. John Todorovic

      Attitude can be adjusted with a few simple steps. We do need that compassion. Thank you for your feedback.

  7. MyVeteranWoman

    Too often, people pass up perfect opportunities to do good. It could be a simple as helping out a neighbor instead of complaining about their grass needing cut. Or even just buying someone a cup of coffee could do so much for that person. If more people could just focus for a bit on others instead of our own issues, life would truly be a better place.

    1. John Todorovic

      True. I hope that people would lighten up sometimes, because helping others in the simplest manner would make our environment enjoyable. Thank you for sharing the thoughts.

  8. RD Rideaux

    This is such a pleasant and compassionate read! I truly enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing.

    1. John Todorovic

      I am grateful for your thoughtful words. Thank you.

  9. Preeti Gaur

    Loved it. This is heartwarming and I really enjoyed reading it. Thanks for sharing such post.

    1. John Todorovic

      Thank you for taking time to read the post. 🙂

  10. Kristi McAllister

    This post is very touching. I think in general, humanness always wins out when it comes to embracing each other’s differences. I’ve never been one to judge another person–not for their religious beliefs, their sexual orientation, or otherwise; however, some people have such an intolerance to those different than they are that they can’t get past the closed-mindedness. My deepest hope is that I will always accept people as they are and that I’ll learn to listen more than speak.

    1. John Todorovic

      I couldn’t have said it better Kristi. Your thoughts are well appreciated.

  11. anissa4334

    That is probably my main focus this year, appreciating what I have and taking nothing for granted ! People are out here doing amazing things with less! Thank you for sharing!

    1. John Todorovic

      Thanks Anissa. We need to recognize and acknowledge the effort of everyone making it.

  12. Matthew Kent

    It’s amazing how many blessings we take for granted every day. Even after over a year of listing things that I am grateful for ever day, my vision and sense of hearing and taste and touch rarely come up

    1. John Todorovic

      I completely agree Matthew. Sometimes we fail to acknowledge things that are right in front of us. Thank you for your input.

  13. Herlina Kwee

    Stories like this always amaze me. Recently, I also read a story about a blind guy who travels the world on his own. We often take for granted the things we do have while complaining and yearning for the things we don’t have.

    1. John Todorovic

      It’s amazing how many things happen without us being aware of them. Thank you for sharing your thoughts Herlina.

  14. kinanthiayusg

    it is always a humbling experience being in a presence of people who struggle more in life than the rest of us who are more fortunate, yet they still have the will to thrive, positivity, compassion and even better sense of humour..
    I absolutely agree with you that we should appreciate more the things we mostly taken for granted and do something good with it..
    Always love your writing 🙂

  15. Maren Auxier

    If we took the time to appreciate one another’s differences instead of being indifferent or critical, the world would be a much better place. Thank you for this heartfelt article!

  16. Alynda Long

    I love this so much! I have a sweet friend who works for the Deaf Bible Society where they get the Bible into the hands of those who can’t hear. It’s so amazing to witness the joy of others receiving what was always kept from them. Blessings to you!

  17. Kiala

    This is compassionate. Great read

  18. Justin

    It’s always a reality check with stuff like this. We can’t take these “simple” things like hearing for granted. Great post!

  19. chelf

    agreed, we should take nothing for granted and we should be practicing companion on a daily basis! Well said!

  20. Safi

    This is so great! It’s so important to be grateful and do good for others!

  21. Preeti Chauhan

    Sometimes we take our blessings for granted.It was when i broke my leg that i realised how lucky I was to be able to walk on my own two feet . Gratefulness will only make us compassionate . Nice post -Thanks !

  22. Mane

    I believe you. You will hear more when you are silent. Every now and then we should stop and listen. Listen to the sound of music, listen to those who are in need, listen to your heart. Respect the ability to hear and speak, and use those abilities to do good – This is so true and we should always do. Thank you for sharing!

  23. traveloptician

    We should be the change and make things better, but in this time we’re just following the crowd, we think the same, we breath the same. We’re afraid to be the change and to be different. So sad. But lovely post.

  24. It’s ironic that most people don’t stop to see things from a disabled or impaired point of view until they or a loved one is impaired. I think it is so important to do this daily and to be grateful for what you have and help others anyway you can.

  25. rspires811

    I love to read stories like this.It make me take note of any and all blessings. If more people would take note how blessed they truly are, the world would be a more compassionate place.

  26. Listening is truly significant. Listening each other is a key for healthy dialogue, listening nature glows your souls. If your environment is suitable, being sensitive means you are gifted.

  27. Kavi

    Absolutely true and i agree with every single word you have written. Sometimes, people tend to forget to be happy and content with what they have and give more importance to what they don’t have. I believe that we all should be thankful to what we have and treat others the same way we would like to be treated.

  28. Eric Gamble

    What a great experience you had with these kids. I am always amazed what those with impairments can do and accomplish. For a hot minute in college I studied Music Therapy and was totally amazed how deaf children were able to respond to vibrations from different musical instruments. Their first experience was always mind blowing to me. As for those who take the time to help those with different disabilities, they are great. I wish I had more patience to work with them. I hope to one day attend and perhaps even volunteer with the Special Olympics.

  29. Hằng Nguyễn

    Your blog post is inspiring. You’re right. Besides hatred and judgement, we should find other meaningful thing of life which makes we want to live.

  30. Our generation is quick to judge and condemn instead of stopping to listen and understand why people do what they do. I love this line ‘Instead of looking on how to judge others, we should consider how we can help those who are less fortunate.’ It costs us nothing to be kind!

  31. pslater1972

    Another really valuable post. Heartwarming and powerful.

  32. julivaglobal

    You hit the nail on the head and it really is interesting that most of us hear rather than listen

  33. Casey

    I think people underestimate the importance to stop and listen. I truly enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing.

  34. Rachael Hope

    I really enjoyed reading this post 🙂 it reminded me to be grateful for what I have in life. Rach

  35. Diana Williams

    This is such a great inspiring read. It is so important to do this daily and to be grateful for what you have and help others as you can.

  36. Nina

    Almost made me teary-eyed! It’s amazing what patience can do. I was a teacher for more than ten years and patience is one of the qualities that a teacher must have in order to make a difference in their lives.

  37. ZyraKuma

    People should stop, listen and start the think of the opportunities.

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