QUIET

BY WALLACE CALEB BATES

It usually comes at night, once the emails stop, the house is quiet, and the world is no longer asking anything of me.

That is when I feel it: something settles in my chest. It is not anxiety or sadness, but stillness. 

It is the feeling that shows up when things finally slow down enough for me to feel what has been sitting underneath the surface all day. And if I am honest, it used to make me uncomfortable.

I would reach for my phone, turn on the TV, or start thinking through tomorrow’s to-do list, pretty much anything to avoid sitting too long in the quiet.

But I am learning that the quiet is not something to run from, but something to lean into.

When I take a deep breath and let the stillness be what it is, I realize it is not emptiness but space.

Space to think. Space to breathe. Space for God to speak.

These moments, when the day fades and the noise dies down, might be invitations to not do more or fix anything, but to be still long enough to remember that I am not carrying everything alone.

So now, when that feeling comes at night, I do not rush to fill it; instead, I sit with it, breathe through it and remind myself that it is okay. This is sacred ground, even if it feels unfamiliar.

God is here too, especially in the quiet. 

POPULAR

A NEW START - AN ENTRY FROM MY HEART

BY WALLACE CALEB BATES As I sit here drinking my coffee this Saturday afternoon, looking out the window at the snow-blanketed ground and my dog frolicking through the yard (I love the word frolicking!), I am reminded of how the world outside our homes can fill with joy and pain, happiness and sadness, and other contrasting emotions.  At the start of this new year, I set a few small goals that were aligned with James Clear's framework in Atomic Habits : incremental, small changes that will lead toward steady progress. Among these goals are making my bed each day, listening to or reading scripture each day, and journaling each day.  This blog site is part of the last effort mentioned above. I plan to use it as a public-facing journal in which I share my thoughts regarding topics of varying natures. Some of them will discuss my faith, my profession as a higher education public relations professional, my academic pursuits as a scholar, and my perspective as an Appalachian living i...
READ MORE | | |

FREE SPEECH IN THE DIGITAL AGE — A STRUGGLE FOR TRUTH

BY WALLACE CALEB BATES It is hard to believe that the COVID-19 pandemic's onset is now five years in the past. I will never forget the painstaking experience we endured as a collective people during that time. We faced a public health challenge and an issue involving disinformation unparalleled to any other era in American history.  I try not to compare our modern days to bygone eras. The world has always been dysfunctional, and people have always lied and perpetuated harm against others with whom they disagree. However, social media platforms have only existed for a relatively short time. Social media, serving in its often-watchdog capacity, could have prevented some of our most widespread stains against humanity.  Perhaps world leaders would not have turned their backs on the horrible occurrences in Hitler's Germany during the late 1930s; possibly, the slave trade would have never unjustly brought oppression to generations of African people and their descendants in the Ameri...
READ MORE | | |

PROTECT AND DEFEND

 BY WALLACE CALEB BATES On the eve of another inauguration, I am pondering what it means to be an American. The peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of American democracy, an event we can anticipate every four years that ensures our voice leads a government created by the people, for the people, and of the people. At noon tomorrow, a new president and vice president will swear in to begin their terms, taking an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, a breathing, living document that has enshrined the rights of the people into America's foundation. This moment, while steeped in ceremony, reminds us of the enduring strength of our republic and our responsibility to safeguard it. As President Joseph R. Biden recently said, "Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead." A po...
READ MORE | | |