silence has many layered meanings before you can reach what Father O'Donahue described as the intimate innocence of the soul.......this is how I envision it......if i can be so bold to draw a picture of silence.....
the outer layer initial silence shivers in shyness. it has a self-conscious blush to it. you yearn for interuptions....anything to break the awkward adolesence. the next layer still is trapped in a doubting uneasiness. should I talk to fill in the silence, you think? I wonder what others around me are thinking in their silence? what can i think of to fill the discomfort? this silence is so damn loud!
the third layer is a stepping away from the noise, though it can be heard in the murmuring echoes. this silence is where stillness begins, in the drumming reflections. every now and then you can hear the pongbong of the reflection, like a stone thrown into a pond.
ease is coming......the stone has to settle........the stone has to settle.... the senses heighten and turn inward.
the fourth layer of silence is found in the lapping of the ripples.... a mesmerizing rippling on the surface as the eyes gaze inside the deep welling place. It is there where a sense of vulnerable brokenness finds some comforting light……it is where you feel the most honest and strong while looking at the shadowy reflections of life’s realities.
the fifth layer brings a harmonic meditation........a kneeling thinness of even breathing, where palpitations are replaced by cradle comfort rocking to a welcoming hymnal hum.
It was stated by Meister Eckhart......"no one knows what the soul is. but, what we do know is the soul is where God works compassion...." I'm wondering if our deepest compassion for recognizing and accepting our imperfections as well as those in others can only truly happen when we find the courage to peel away the layers of silence, past the point of the loud pings and into the sanctity of a hymn.
like an onion, the more you peel back the layers, the more tears will fall.
4 comments:
I think more of us need to learn how to turn off, disconnect and get comfortable with the sounds of silence.
I come from a family where everyone seems to talk non-stop. Only they don't talk about anything that matters - they're almost straining to fill the space. I must be the black sheep, for I would rather enjoy the silence, the act of simply being.
hey carmi....thanks for commenting. I was getting a little lonely! haha.
The older i get the more I seem to need the silence in order to gear up for the loud yakkety days i put in. I'm an extrovert mostly and can fill a conversation with hot air and do the social/cocktail talk stuff too......but so often now, I shy away from it.
I love time alone and silent.....and I can pull myself into that frame of mind much more quickly even if i was sitting in the busy train station....tune out and turn off the outside noise.
ps. i'm a black sheep too, both at work and within the fold of my family and friends....i like to look at it as uniquely odd. :)
Your description, with the layers, I could visualize it. I have been peeling away the layers of my silence and very much look forward to getting to centre, my centre, my peace. Wonderful post.
Post a Comment