The silentness of snow never fails to amaze me
Falling so thick and fast yet without the slightest sound
I watch its fat flakes bright white against the darkest of skies
With only the naked winter trees to bear witness
And us
It is so beautiful
I have been like a kid at Christmas awake all night checking
peeking through the curtains
Filled with anticipation
To see if it was here.
It’s coming down thicker and heavier now
Carpeting the earth
Muffling the earth
And suddenly the clouds move and the light changes
The world emerges in all its details
A cluster of jackdaws settling in the top of the old Ash
And a child’s giggles greet the world.
Heavy, Dark and Slow
Such negatively charged words
It is such a shame
They offer so many of their own delights
Just as many as Light and Quick
If only we could learn to appreciate the full yin Yang circle
In its fullness, both sides and all that’s between.
Lying here in a warm nest of blankets
Accompanied by two dozing cats
And watching the weather on this wintry morning
Comes close to bliss for me
But then, I find watching the weather unclouds the mind in every season.
I can’t move,
The silence is almost deafening
My deepest being just yearns to sit here
in the bare naked silence of this moment
And revel in it
Let’s it’s fullness, or emptiness, envelop me
Wash over and through me,
Cleanse me
Hold me
My ears open open open
Broadening my mind
And my whole body follows suit
Releasing its inward clench
The settled snow picks out and defines the upper surface of the trees outstretched branches
Only at this time of year, do we get to admire this exquisite architecture
A dog gambols and races excitedly through the falling snow
Joh & exhilaration in motion
While the cats stay curled and cosy
There are many ways to make the most of any season.
“Why are you so afraid of silence?” Asks Rumi
“ Silence is the root of everything.
If you spiral into its void a hundred voices will thunder messages you long to hear.”
Contact with the sacred occurs in the stillness of the heart and mind.
If there is any real destination to the spiritual quest,
it is the point of silence,
the middle of the spiral,
the centre of the self….
The only map that does the spiritual traveller any good is the one that leads to the centre.
Christina Baldwin