The Gift of Stillness
It has been over twenty years since I lived up north but there is one experience that lingers with me. The air is cold and still. The snow begins to fall. There are only a few flakes at first but gradually the air becomes filled with gently swirling crystals of ice. And as the snowfall increases, the quiet stillness grows. Sounds disappear and a wondrous silence surrounds me with a mystical stillness. I found those quiet Mid-winter snows to be a time to listen to silence and hear its’ voice in the stillness.
During the harried, hurried holidays, silence is an elusive quality. The noise invades our inner thoughts and our besieged souls hunger for quiet. Our souls skip across the rushing river of tasks by leaping from anxiety to frustration to outright anger. The howling winds of expectations and desires try to knock us into that swiftly flowing stream. We discover that the “hurriedier we go, the behinder we get!” Our souls cry out, “Stop!”
The one gift that each of us needs to unwrap this holiday season is the gift of that inner faith that keeps us going. That quiet core of beliefs that reminds us that life is indeed worthwhile. We need to unwrap the place where hope and joy, trust and love reside.
Spend some quiet time where you can listen to the silence so that even that inner voice is stilled. Allow the quiet to renew your spirit and remind you of the reason for your holiday season.
Happy Holidays to you all!
During the harried, hurried holidays, silence is an elusive quality. The noise invades our inner thoughts and our besieged souls hunger for quiet. Our souls skip across the rushing river of tasks by leaping from anxiety to frustration to outright anger. The howling winds of expectations and desires try to knock us into that swiftly flowing stream. We discover that the “hurriedier we go, the behinder we get!” Our souls cry out, “Stop!”
The one gift that each of us needs to unwrap this holiday season is the gift of that inner faith that keeps us going. That quiet core of beliefs that reminds us that life is indeed worthwhile. We need to unwrap the place where hope and joy, trust and love reside.
Spend some quiet time where you can listen to the silence so that even that inner voice is stilled. Allow the quiet to renew your spirit and remind you of the reason for your holiday season.
Happy Holidays to you all!
Tips – Listening to the silence!
It sounds strange to say that we need to listen to the silence. After all, listening is for sound. Silence is the absence of sound, right?
But silence is always around us. Listening to it is just a matter of focusing our attention on it. For us, silence is less about what is going on around us as it is about finding stillness within us. That stillness comes when we let go of attending to every bump and thump of the day. Stillness comes to us when we no longer give our random thoughts the attention they demand. Instead we focus on the spaces between the noise. Every sentence that has ever been spoken included silence. Every piece of music you hear includes at least fleeting moments of silence. Every relationship sooner or later falls quiet while wrapped in one another’s arms. We are surrounded by silence.
When you are ready for a little silence, close your eyes and find a comfortable position. Release your attention on your thoughts by acknowledging them and moving on. Attend to your own breathing, lingering on those moments when your breath is still. When noise from outside intrudes, acknowledge it and move on. Return to your breathing, especially those moments of stillness between breaths. Allow that stillness to seep into your core so that it can release the aromas of love and trust, joy and hope into your soul. Allow yourself to receive the true gift of these holy, holidays!
But silence is always around us. Listening to it is just a matter of focusing our attention on it. For us, silence is less about what is going on around us as it is about finding stillness within us. That stillness comes when we let go of attending to every bump and thump of the day. Stillness comes to us when we no longer give our random thoughts the attention they demand. Instead we focus on the spaces between the noise. Every sentence that has ever been spoken included silence. Every piece of music you hear includes at least fleeting moments of silence. Every relationship sooner or later falls quiet while wrapped in one another’s arms. We are surrounded by silence.
When you are ready for a little silence, close your eyes and find a comfortable position. Release your attention on your thoughts by acknowledging them and moving on. Attend to your own breathing, lingering on those moments when your breath is still. When noise from outside intrudes, acknowledge it and move on. Return to your breathing, especially those moments of stillness between breaths. Allow that stillness to seep into your core so that it can release the aromas of love and trust, joy and hope into your soul. Allow yourself to receive the true gift of these holy, holidays!
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