A friend gave me the following words on silence. I don’t know who wrote it, but here’s how it goes:
“How is it possible to reach inner silence? Sometimes we are apparently silent and yet we have great discussions within, struggling with imaginary partners or with ourselves. Calming our souls requires a kind of simplicity. Silence means recognising that my worries can’t do much. Silence means leaving to God what is beyond my reach and capacity. A moment of silence, even very short, is like a holy stop, a sabbatical rest, a truce of worries.”
The writer of these words went on to tell the story of Jesus and his friends, out at sea, caught in the middle of a heavy storm. Waves crashing, the boat tipping, water pouring in over the sides, Jesus sleeping and his friends seeing images of life flashing in front of their eyes.
But then Jesus spoke and silence followed...
Whatever is going on that troubles your soul and keeps you from (re)connecting with the Silent Peaceful One, when Jesus speaks, a great calm follows.
Showing posts with label Silence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Silence. Show all posts
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Day 43
To go into the closet is a lonely activity. There is usually just enough space for one person. You are bound to hear your own breathing, feel the itchiness of your own skin, hear the sounds your stomach makes when all is quiet and still, face yourself, confront your demons and end up with nothing but the emptiness of the God-shaped gap inside your soul.
Most of the time we do our best to avoid situations like this.
Cause loneliness is never nice.
That’s why the radio is on the whole day; the TV entertains even when no one’s around and our lives are filled to the brim with appointments, meetings, tasks, images, ideas, sounds, voices and words.
But deep, honest, life changing prayer needs silence.
To pray is to be utterly quiet and to do that we need to move from our fear of being lonely towards a state of being where we can embrace our lonely selves.
The word is solitude.
The Old Monks understood this; the Ancient Desert Fathers lived it and the Old Prophets like John and Jesus perfected it into an art form.
In the stories told by the friends of Jesus, we encounter a man who’s not afraid of being lonely.
Before or after every big event or task, he retreats into the wilderness. One time he even stayed there for 40 days, confronted by his Shadow, challenged by his Temptations, weakened by his Humanness and in the end cared for by the Angels of the Living One.
In the closet you learn to reserve the God-shaped gap for God, even if it stays empty for a long time. It’s that place in your life where solitude takes the place of loneliness, a sacred space where
Fear can grow into Love.
According to a priest called Henry Nouwen, a storyteller called Matthew and a Prophet called Jesus, this is the first baby step towards a life of prayer:
Learning to love yourself.
So here is the challenge:
Find your closet. Go there often. Become utterly quite. Don’t talk. Don’t pray. Just listen.
Most of the time we do our best to avoid situations like this.
Cause loneliness is never nice.
That’s why the radio is on the whole day; the TV entertains even when no one’s around and our lives are filled to the brim with appointments, meetings, tasks, images, ideas, sounds, voices and words.
But deep, honest, life changing prayer needs silence.
To pray is to be utterly quiet and to do that we need to move from our fear of being lonely towards a state of being where we can embrace our lonely selves.
The word is solitude.
The Old Monks understood this; the Ancient Desert Fathers lived it and the Old Prophets like John and Jesus perfected it into an art form.
In the stories told by the friends of Jesus, we encounter a man who’s not afraid of being lonely.
Before or after every big event or task, he retreats into the wilderness. One time he even stayed there for 40 days, confronted by his Shadow, challenged by his Temptations, weakened by his Humanness and in the end cared for by the Angels of the Living One.
In the closet you learn to reserve the God-shaped gap for God, even if it stays empty for a long time. It’s that place in your life where solitude takes the place of loneliness, a sacred space where
Fear can grow into Love.
According to a priest called Henry Nouwen, a storyteller called Matthew and a Prophet called Jesus, this is the first baby step towards a life of prayer:
Learning to love yourself.
So here is the challenge:
Find your closet. Go there often. Become utterly quite. Don’t talk. Don’t pray. Just listen.
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