THE SILENCE THAT KILLS

Problems don't just go away! If left unattended, they fester and grow and ultimately become all consuming.

Every adversity has the potential to make us to become MORE, including HIV/Aids. Difficulty is the natural order that comes to stretch boundaries, to force us out of stagnant comfort into a more proactive attitude that searches for meaningful solutions. Self-pity is often loaded with attention seeking and speaks of defeat and an unwillingness to go through the pain to transcend to become MORE.

The shame surrounding HIV, possibly because of its link to promiscuity and sexuality, creates a deathly silence that few choose to confront. It is in that treacherous denial that the virus continues to be actively spread, both within those already infected as well as being transmitted without fanfare to the uninfected. It is this shamed silence that has bred a pandemic that now seems almost impossible to limit.

HIV is a personal dilemma for nearly 50 million people. That number is probably far greater if the truth were known, but secrecy and deception both by individuals, governments and society in general has allowed an epidemic to become an outrageous pandemic.

Stigma is self-perpetuating! The person who feels comfortable about self, despite circumstance, including HIV, is rarely challenged. Such people are most frequently admired for their candour and others are drawn to them by their magnetic authenticity. Personal power is borne out of self-acceptance and an ability to turn challenge to positive advantage. Conversely, the mind of the victim keeps those frightened souls in a tortured captivity that is self-generated.

Whether we are HIV+ or not, this issue can no longer remain cloaked in silence. It has become the silence that kills!

Passivity around HIV should no longer be tolerated. Whether as individuals or as society in general, refusing to address this issue constructively can only lead to more infection, an exploding and seemingly unaffordable cost in financial terms and an aching human tragedy, as borne out by the millions of orphans created by this plague.

What we focus on and most particularly what we give voice to, becomes energised and ultimately manifests as reality. This is the time to engage HIV in the most positive way imaginable, rather than just remaining silent and allowing the problem to expand and perpetuate. We may not all be infected, but we are all certainly affected and need to play our role as constructively as possible.

Let's kill the "silence", whether it be about our own struggle with HIV or our ability to make a small regular difference by refusing to proliferate the infection through responsible behaviour. Rather than walking away from the issue, let's choose daily to be part of an achievable transformation just by changing our thoughts and consequently our universe.

Here is an opportunity for us to grow as individuals and for society in general to evolve. That significant journey will only be attained by a change in attitude coupled with small progressive steps in a meaningful direction.

The underlying fear that creates the silence that kills, needs to be transformed into the next major revolution that changes the physical, mental and spiritual health of humankind. Here is a chance for us all to become MORE!