I notice I seek solitude in the forest and the silence is where I would rather be but the forest is anything but silent what I notice from the silencing of human bustle is what feels like I should spend more time in than “out there” where man has imposed his demanding will onto the natural habitat often beyond recognition and proper function but I digress
Wasn’t sure how to answer that was the final determination
Okay let me elaborate I’m a recluse by nature so when I have the means to escape the rat race and go off-grid or nearly so I imagine the silence would reveal things to me I will never see in this rat in a cage life I currently feel trapped in dreaming of moving
I guess the lesson of gratitude would tell me while you aren’t a refugee try to learn to appreciate the little things it will make you a better human
In silence, I notice the rain – how calm, peaceful, comforting and nurturing it is … I also notice what a gift it is to finally stop, slow down and rest in solitude, to tune in, check-in, rebalance and reconnect with an inner and outer sense of quiet, stillness and peace. Having few outside commitments today and this week is such a gift …
Oh, I have the perfect poem for this question, and it was posted on this date in the series I often point to that posted a mindfulness poem every day for three years. Notice my breath, notice the ground under my feet and the gravity holding me there, notice the air entering and leaving my nostrils and all around me touching my skin, notice the world around me.
“Being a Person”
William Stafford
Be a person here. Stand by the river, invoke
the owls. Invoke winter, then spring.
Let any season that wants to come here make its own
call. After that sound goes away, wait.
A slow bubble rises through the earth
and begins to include sky, stars, all space,
even the outracing, expanding thought.
Come back and hear the little sound again.
Suddenly this dream you are having matches
everyone’s dream, and the result is the world.
If a different call came there wouldn’t be any
world, or you, or the river, or the owls calling.
How you stand here is important. How you
listen for the next things to happen. How you breathe.
Silence is what I crave. It isn’t always found. I enjoy some silence while on a walk in nature and like the natural noise. Another rainy day here in Rhode Island. Today life slows down for me and I look forward to some quiet time which comes with the winter months. Rest is what my body is needing.
Happy Sunday all,
I am never really in silence. In fact, I don’t know what that would be like. I am often in a quiet place, but my ears are always seeking sounds. My heartbeat. My breathe. The sounds of tinnitus in my left ear, the refrigerator in the other room, a cat running through the house, the water dripping in the downspout, the furnace blowing warm air, the wind outside my window.
But yes, I do seek “silence”, it helps me focus.
The last twenty years or so, I’ve lived in pretty quiet places. I like it. But it’s funny, I think the reason I like it, is because it lets me hear all this other stuff. Birds and wind and rustling leaves.
Silence once it sinks down from perceiving all of which is perceived in this moment inside and outside reveals calmness and peace when it is unfolding to stillness. Then in these still rarely perceived but sometimes sensed moments of stillness, there is without any label of whatsoever nothing present but timeless, everlasting pure Love and Peace. Thank you for this question.
When I read that question to myself this morning, I received an immediate answer: “How tired I am!” .. which really surprised me!…until I sensed that there is more to that answer. “How tired I am…. of all the noise. ..the noise inside my head as well as all around me”. I don’t feel like I need deep rest, but when I get to the place of actual deep silence, deep rest seems to be offered and desired. Even writing that, I feel conflicted, because what I “think” that I want and hope for is more energy. Ironic and a bit confusing and hopefully revealing. I appreciate the question and the responses. I hope each of us has a good day, in whatever way that manifests.
Thank you for your reflection. It helped me realize that I, too, and seeking and needing rest from so much noise and running …
Are you familiar with the work of Tricia Hersey, known for the Nap Ministry? thenapministry.wordpress.com. She has two books out – We Will Rest: The Art of Escape, and Rest is Resistance. Sharing this in case it is of interest. I will seek one or both of these out at our local spiritual bookstore today.
I was fortunate to work with a kinesiologist this year. One of the key lessons he taught me is to learn to rest. The formula he taught me is – stress + rest = growth. In the past month I somehow forgot the ‘rest’ part of the equation, as the stress took over.
Thank you again so much for your reflection. I hope you find whatever elements of rest you are needing, to return to the energy you are seeking!
Warmest wishes for a beautiful day, and new year ahead…
Layers. The swish of the washing machine, tinnitus, sounds of family swallowing coffee, air in and out of nose, a shared attentiveness of the presences in the room (people and dog), and beneath that, a stillness like a golden pool of water.
In the silence, my body speaks to me and tells me how tense I am and my monkey mind wants to chase its thoughts. As my dear 101 year old uncle(RIP) use to say, “You suffer from analysis paralysis.” Meditation is always a challenge for me but so worth my time. It helps me hear and feel the calm that dwells at my core. I love this quote. It speaks a profound truth to me: “What you are, the world is. And without your transformation, there can be no transformation of the world.” It reminds me that I have to “Be still to know.” When will we ever learn the difference between revolution and evolution??? When will we choose to evolve instead of revolve??? I share a poem and reflection I wrote many years ago. If I already shared it recently, I apologize as I don’t remember doing so!
Evolution by Carol Conner
Fear—massive and heavy
Fear—deep and daunting
Fear—tight and constrictive
Fear—permeating every cell,
limiting every opportunity
to grow.
A primal cry,
screaming silently
bursting my frozen lungs,
cracking my brittle bones,
confronting my fear-filled mind,
exposing my heartfelt vulnerability.
Has the heart forgotten
that everything belongs?
It hides, trapped
in the revolutionary chains
handed down
generation after generation.
I see my ancestors.
They look out at me
through my own eyes,
pleading with me,
“This time let’s do it differently. Let’s evolve instead of revolve.
This time let’s change—no longer re-arrange the past.”
I wrote this today…my attempt to deal with this weary body, mind and heart. I had a spiritualist do a reading for me in AZ…we called on my ancestors and a group of women showed up who appeared depressed, oppressed and they expressed a wish to help me. When the spiritualist was describing this vision, I saw myself on Thanksgiving night 1994 when I stood in front of my bathroom mirror, reached for the hair brush to comb my hair and the woman in the mirror did not pick up the brush. I knew I was on the verge of losing touch with reality. She looked out at me with the saddest, most fearful expression I had ever seen and I knew she was me. She was showing me what I had become. I took several steps to change that but alas, I really did not let go of the past. I have repeated this pattern all of my life and I do not wish to do it this time! Time is short and I would like to meet and greet my ancestors with the gift of an evolved DNA!
I am holding a lot of compassion for you, Carol. I hope you are on some sort of verge into a beautiful, graceful, deserved transition. I hope grace and tranquility and solid knowing visit you very soon. Thank you for using this site today to continue your commitments and to sharing your path with us.
I wrote the poem and reflection that follows it several years ago and am in a much better place today. Today, I know my job is willingness. Life is a process not a performance. I am so thankful to have realized that and gratefulness has played a major role.
Very deep. It must feel wonderful to be in a better place today : ). We have all had our dark days and it is nice to know that the light will shine afterwards.
A divine, beneficent energy connecting each of us & all that is & ever was.
I appreciate this question. Stopping to notice more deeply helped me articulate something I don’t usually realize. Namaste, all…especially the creator of this question.
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I notice I seek solitude in the forest and the silence is where I would rather be but the forest is anything but silent what I notice from the silencing of human bustle is what feels like I should spend more time in than “out there” where man has imposed his demanding will onto the natural habitat often beyond recognition and proper function but I digress
Wasn’t sure how to answer that was the final determination
Okay let me elaborate I’m a recluse by nature so when I have the means to escape the rat race and go off-grid or nearly so I imagine the silence would reveal things to me I will never see in this rat in a cage life I currently feel trapped in dreaming of moving
I guess the lesson of gratitude would tell me while you aren’t a refugee try to learn to appreciate the little things it will make you a better human
So true!
In silence, I notice the rain – how calm, peaceful, comforting and nurturing it is … I also notice what a gift it is to finally stop, slow down and rest in solitude, to tune in, check-in, rebalance and reconnect with an inner and outer sense of quiet, stillness and peace. Having few outside commitments today and this week is such a gift …
Oh, I have the perfect poem for this question, and it was posted on this date in the series I often point to that posted a mindfulness poem every day for three years. Notice my breath, notice the ground under my feet and the gravity holding me there, notice the air entering and leaving my nostrils and all around me touching my skin, notice the world around me.
“Being a Person”
William Stafford
Be a person here. Stand by the river, invoke
the owls. Invoke winter, then spring.
Let any season that wants to come here make its own
call. After that sound goes away, wait.
A slow bubble rises through the earth
and begins to include sky, stars, all space,
even the outracing, expanding thought.
Come back and hear the little sound again.
Suddenly this dream you are having matches
everyone’s dream, and the result is the world.
If a different call came there wouldn’t be any
world, or you, or the river, or the owls calling.
How you stand here is important. How you
listen for the next things to happen. How you breathe.
https://www.ayearofbeinghere.com/2014/12/william-stafford-being-person.html
Silence is what I crave. It isn’t always found. I enjoy some silence while on a walk in nature and like the natural noise. Another rainy day here in Rhode Island. Today life slows down for me and I look forward to some quiet time which comes with the winter months. Rest is what my body is needing.
Happy Sunday all,
To be present is
To notice the stillness in
All things that are here
“Notice the stillness”; those 3 words just catch my attention this morning, Lauren. Thank you.
nice haiku Lauren
I am never really in silence. In fact, I don’t know what that would be like. I am often in a quiet place, but my ears are always seeking sounds. My heartbeat. My breathe. The sounds of tinnitus in my left ear, the refrigerator in the other room, a cat running through the house, the water dripping in the downspout, the furnace blowing warm air, the wind outside my window.
But yes, I do seek “silence”, it helps me focus.
The last twenty years or so, I’ve lived in pretty quiet places. I like it. But it’s funny, I think the reason I like it, is because it lets me hear all this other stuff. Birds and wind and rustling leaves.
Silence once it sinks down from perceiving all of which is perceived in this moment inside and outside reveals calmness and peace when it is unfolding to stillness. Then in these still rarely perceived but sometimes sensed moments of stillness, there is without any label of whatsoever nothing present but timeless, everlasting pure Love and Peace. Thank you for this question.
When I read that question to myself this morning, I received an immediate answer: “How tired I am!” .. which really surprised me!…until I sensed that there is more to that answer. “How tired I am…. of all the noise. ..the noise inside my head as well as all around me”. I don’t feel like I need deep rest, but when I get to the place of actual deep silence, deep rest seems to be offered and desired. Even writing that, I feel conflicted, because what I “think” that I want and hope for is more energy. Ironic and a bit confusing and hopefully revealing. I appreciate the question and the responses. I hope each of us has a good day, in whatever way that manifests.
Carol Ann,
Thank you for your reflection. It helped me realize that I, too, and seeking and needing rest from so much noise and running …
Are you familiar with the work of Tricia Hersey, known for the Nap Ministry? thenapministry.wordpress.com. She has two books out – We Will Rest: The Art of Escape, and Rest is Resistance. Sharing this in case it is of interest. I will seek one or both of these out at our local spiritual bookstore today.
I was fortunate to work with a kinesiologist this year. One of the key lessons he taught me is to learn to rest. The formula he taught me is – stress + rest = growth. In the past month I somehow forgot the ‘rest’ part of the equation, as the stress took over.
Thank you again so much for your reflection. I hope you find whatever elements of rest you are needing, to return to the energy you are seeking!
Warmest wishes for a beautiful day, and new year ahead…
KC
More rest will equate to more energy. Expending more energy will equate to better rest.
I love this circular concept. thanks for sharing it, Joseph. I can use this happily.
These words resonate. Thank you and hope you find some rest.
thank you, Carly🙏
In silence, I notice that my thoughts race so fast that it is hard to slow them and my body down.
Layers. The swish of the washing machine, tinnitus, sounds of family swallowing coffee, air in and out of nose, a shared attentiveness of the presences in the room (people and dog), and beneath that, a stillness like a golden pool of water.
In true silence, I always notice peace and a sense that all is well.
In the silence, my body speaks to me and tells me how tense I am and my monkey mind wants to chase its thoughts. As my dear 101 year old uncle(RIP) use to say, “You suffer from analysis paralysis.” Meditation is always a challenge for me but so worth my time. It helps me hear and feel the calm that dwells at my core. I love this quote. It speaks a profound truth to me: “What you are, the world is. And without your transformation, there can be no transformation of the world.” It reminds me that I have to “Be still to know.” When will we ever learn the difference between revolution and evolution??? When will we choose to evolve instead of revolve??? I share a poem and reflection I wrote many years ago. If I already shared it recently, I apologize as I don’t remember doing so!
Evolution by Carol Conner
Fear—massive and heavy
Fear—deep and daunting
Fear—tight and constrictive
Fear—permeating every cell,
limiting every opportunity
to grow.
A primal cry,
screaming silently
bursting my frozen lungs,
cracking my brittle bones,
confronting my fear-filled mind,
exposing my heartfelt vulnerability.
Has the heart forgotten
that everything belongs?
It hides, trapped
in the revolutionary chains
handed down
generation after generation.
I see my ancestors.
They look out at me
through my own eyes,
pleading with me,
“This time let’s do it differently. Let’s evolve instead of revolve.
This time let’s change—no longer re-arrange the past.”
I wrote this today…my attempt to deal with this weary body, mind and heart. I had a spiritualist do a reading for me in AZ…we called on my ancestors and a group of women showed up who appeared depressed, oppressed and they expressed a wish to help me. When the spiritualist was describing this vision, I saw myself on Thanksgiving night 1994 when I stood in front of my bathroom mirror, reached for the hair brush to comb my hair and the woman in the mirror did not pick up the brush. I knew I was on the verge of losing touch with reality. She looked out at me with the saddest, most fearful expression I had ever seen and I knew she was me. She was showing me what I had become. I took several steps to change that but alas, I really did not let go of the past. I have repeated this pattern all of my life and I do not wish to do it this time! Time is short and I would like to meet and greet my ancestors with the gift of an evolved DNA!
🙏
I am holding a lot of compassion for you, Carol. I hope you are on some sort of verge into a beautiful, graceful, deserved transition. I hope grace and tranquility and solid knowing visit you very soon. Thank you for using this site today to continue your commitments and to sharing your path with us.
I wrote the poem and reflection that follows it several years ago and am in a much better place today. Today, I know my job is willingness. Life is a process not a performance. I am so thankful to have realized that and gratefulness has played a major role.
Very deep. It must feel wonderful to be in a better place today : ). We have all had our dark days and it is nice to know that the light will shine afterwards.
Evolve instead of revolve … yes.
. . . the music of the spheres ♥
A divine, beneficent energy connecting each of us & all that is & ever was.
I appreciate this question. Stopping to notice more deeply helped me articulate something I don’t usually realize. Namaste, all…especially the creator of this question.
The furnace, my husband clearing his throat, my breath and a car or two passing by.