Tag Archives: silence
Silence will an answer be
On November 15, if I live that long, I will complete my allotted seventy years. It’s not a limit I take literally; there are plenty of exceptions on either side of the number. But it’s a good reminder of the brevity of life and of the certainty that it will end, and of the need […]
What mattered today
At the end of every day, Flipboard sends me a summary of the day’s news, a list of stories they consider most important in the latest news cycle. Today’s list included stories about Google’s $5-billion fine; accounts by the Thai boys of their ordeal in the cave; Elon Musk’s apology for what he said about […]
Listening in the silence
To pray is to sit in silence until it silences you.
Important work like sittin’ around fishin’
“Important work like sittin’ around fishin’ remains to be done.” In making this quaint observation, Pogo was not the first to recognize the importance of being alone and idle. The value of solitude has been affirmed throughout history. Early in the nineteenth century, Emerson wrote, “In the morning, — solitude;” said Pythagoras; that Nature may […]
Time for stillness
“Be still,” we’re invited. And the fruit of stillness – genuine stillness, not the interstitial pause between the many agenda that claim our attention – will be an experiential knowledge of the Something Deeper that dwells in stillness, the something we call “God” (Psalm 46:10). Being still requires a lot of slowing down, for me, […]
Mystery
During the days from Christmas into the new year I’ve been touching ground – caring for chores around the house; reading some favorite prose and poetry and some intriguing new things; listening to music that always stirs my soul, including Paul Winter’s Missa Gaia, especially Jeremy Geffen’s song “Mystery.” Well into my middle years I […]
Tell it slant
“Tell all the truth but tell it slant,” Emily Dickinson advised. “Too bright for our infirm Delight / The Truth’s superb surprise / … / The Truth must dazzle gradually / Or every man be blind.” Someone, unquestionably well meaning and hungry for something more, once asked after one of my sermons (back in the […]
