We can only surrender
Periodically a great silence descends into our consciousness, a profound and deep peace, long yearned for. Deeply nurturing, fulfilling. It comes to us as a thief in the night, unsuspected, unplanned for and yet not a thief at all. A giver, a permanent source of unending silence. It stays with us, with our planet, does its work, and then just as mysteriously disappears again. Or so it appears to our consciousness. It brings joy, happiness, relief, willingness to comply – but just as quickly, a sense of grief, sadness at its disappearance.
Where does it come from? Where does it go? Nobody knows. Nobody sees it come, nobody senses it leaving. Most often it comes at the moment of our deepest despair, our darkest night, when we all but give up, when we surrender. Nobody can describe it, this silence, because silence is all that it is, nothing but deep profound silence, deep profound peace. It seems to come from somewhere high above, far beyond our earthly realm, our earthly reality, and to there return. In its own time, at its own pace. We can only surrender, bow our heads in deep reverence, in gratitude.
How difficult it is to find a place of true silence. A place where one can truly appreciate the absence of sound in this our noisy world. Or is it really that, the absence of noise? True silence can manifest in the middle of a noisy place, but not until we experience the silence within ourself will we be able to identify it.
We can enter a quiet place – a sanctuary, a place in nature, a quiet room- and we will experience, “hear” a silence. A silence on the outside of our being while maybe a maelstrom of noise, chatter, thoughts go on within. That silence is transitory, easily overcome by our inner state. But there is also a silence within that silence, a silence that is not perceivable until all the inner noise, the inner chaos has itself become silent, has been overcome, left far behind. Until we enter our own inner silence, our inner state of true peace. This we cannot force. Much inner effort over considerable time will lead us to a point of openness, to a willingness to surrender.
And then ….. periodically a great silence will descend into our consciousness, long yearned for. Deeply nurturing, deeply fulfilling.
We can only surrender to it, bow our heads in deep reverence, in gratitude.
And follow.
