Category: 3Ss

Stillness in the midst of silence, solitude, and simplicity

1/29/2025

Hmm, stillness. During all the years I've written about silence, solitude, and simplicity and sometimes wanting to be alone, I've never considered stillness. Why not? It certainly goes along with those three words that begin with  s'.
    It's not that I thought that stillness was cover by, or synonymous with silence, solitude and simplicity. No, I just never thought about the word at all until a friend told me about Pico Iyer and his books and writings about stillness.
     Stillness has never been in my language repertoire because I have never been a still person. My body is always active, never still. I am not a still person! I get up, move around, sit down, get up, move around,…. No wonder I loved teaching kindergarten, a job where I could keep moving with the kids, knowing in my own body that they learn when active.
     Maybe I'm ready now to consider stillness. Although my life is busy these days, I have the silence, solitude, and simplicity that I need and can tap into it when need be. I don't expect that I will start being physically still, but I will consider stillness in the midst of silence, solitude and simplicity. At least give it a try.

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Solitude with four in the house

8/22/2024

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Here's an update on the silence, solitude, and simplicity at my house these days. It's going well. My daughter and her husband continue to look for a house, so they are still living with my husband and me. They are both very conscious of our privacy, as we are of theirs. They have their own section of this old house, and we have ours. We share the kitchen, laundry room and sun room, and the back yard and garden. We eat at 5:30, they eat at 6:30 or after my daughter gets home from work. We all share in the cooking and washing of dishes, and in the yard work. I don't mean we share equally in each task, but if we were to spread out all that needs to be done, I'm confident we would each get one quarter.

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Just breathe

12/11/2023

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This month I'm taking an online course, The Miracle of Breathe, offered by Spirituality and Practice. The Day Two practice of stopping and taking three breaths has already given me enough, but there are 10 more lessons to go. Those three breaths offer me the silence, solitude, and simplicity I long for.
SILENCE: Deep breathes may offer a sound, but I can breathe in silence.
SOLITUCE: Whether in a crowd at the supermarket, church, in the car with family, or at the dinner table, I can feel the solitude.
SIMPLICITY: Without a doubt, this is the simplicity thing I have to do.

For those who are looking for silence, solitude, and silence and who sometimes like to be alone, just breathe!!

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Alone at the cottage-by-the-sea

11/6/2023

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Faith Ringgold, 'Picnic in the Grass... Alone'

I was introduced to "Picnic in the Grass… Alone," by Faith Ringgold in an exercise offered by Joan Chittister's <monasteriesoftheheart.org>. I wrote: "the picture reminds of the five winters I spent at the cottage-by-the-sea that I rented just an hour and a half from my home. I was alone all week, watching the sunrise and the ocean, walking the beach, praying and reading, and relaxing with a jigsaw puzzle (and with limited internet). I can't do that now, but I can reach into the memories and live the peace that that time offered me."
Right now, as I write, I struggle with how to get back into writing for this blog at least a couple of times a week , as I did while at the cottage and in subsequent years. Posting every other day isn't a worthy goal, but, for sure, more consistency is. At the cottage I had time; the only distractions were of my own making. My life is still involved with family, friends, church obligations, …, all of which I graciously (usually with a smile) accept and cherish. Since my last winter at the cottage in 2014, however, much has changed in the world, which seems to effect everything that we do . But I am not willing to play the blame game. It's up to me to write.
Thanks for bearing with me. I still have people checking in to see how I'm doing with silence, solitude, and simplicity, and sometime being alone. All of you encourage me, and so, with hope, I can still offer encouragement back to you.

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E. JEAN CARROLL and Neil Armstrong

5/10/2023

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That news yesterday' reminded me of Neil Armstrong's famous words spoken on the moon on July 20, 1969: “That's one small step for mankind, one giant leap for humankind.” E. JEAN CARROLL took a successful step for woman and legal leap humankind!
If you need my apology for what you might consider my speaking politically, please accept it as offered. However, I don't considering speaking out for human rights as political. Human rights are not political. No, they are essential for everyone who wants and needs silence, solitude and simplicity from time to time. And THAT, I believe, is everyone, each and every human being.

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It's the feeling, not the circumstance.

1/28/2023

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Sometimes I feel embraced by solitude; it can happen when there is activity in my life, or when not much is going on. Whatever the situation, it is the feeling that matters, be it silence, solitude, and simplicity, or, anger, fear, and stress. Taking a walk (and seeing a dear) helps me feel peace; listening to the news does the opposite. It is the weekend; the TV stays off. It's the feeling, not the circumstance.

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Let's keep walking the high road together

11/2/2022

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We’ve celebrated the saints and now it is time for all the souls. The souls—people we know, strangers and, yes, we must include ourselves. So much suffering out there, but never let that smother the hope.
All the lying, meanness, and evil that has enveloped our country continues to be met with truth telling, kindness, and love. Souls, including me, are struggling to keep on the high road, to speak our truth with love, to help all people, not just those with whom we’d love to journey with. During these tough times, those of us who still hold onto hope, must speak out and act on the good things, the good possibilities.
My faith tells me to love my enemies. I’m working on that one. It sure is a challenge but I don’t want to give up, which is one reason I keep this blog going. So, thank you, you silent, solitary, and simple souls, for listening and walking the high road of hope with me.

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The Put and Take--a place to give and receive

8/7/2022

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Thinking about all the categories of simplicity. Well, I won’t list them. Enough to say that I want a simple life. I work on it and then I look at this old house. Stuff! Over the years we’ve made major purges—when our kids moved out, when we repainted and had the floors refinished…. In the past 25 years we’ve probably filled three dumpsters.
So where did all this new stuff come from? The culprit is the put-and-take at our local dump (Sorry for the old-fashioned word. It’s now called a landfill). For six months it is open for residents to give and receive treasures. Really good stuff, often new—books, furniture, puzzles, kitchen ware, kid’s toys, yard equipment. For example, the coffee maker we’re using was from the P&T—new, still in the unopened box. And then, get this! One day my husband came home with three unopened bottles of Scotch!! Not hard to figure out why they were left! I hope the person who left them has never wanted them back!
In no way am I blaming the dump for all the stuff that we have dumped into our house and yard. And we’ve done our share of giving as well as receiving. My husband picks up flower pots and other garden memorabilia. If he gives a gift, rest assured, he's found just the right present for you without spending a cent. And you will love it.

I feel and know that we need to keep this place cleared up as we stay here. I can see what happens to ‘old folk’ who stay in their home of many, many years.

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Silence, solitude and simplicity at SSJE

6/28/2022

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As the expression starts, I can’t wait… to go on another retreat at SSJE (see previous blog posts). Here is a word or two about the silence, solitude and simplicity I experienced for three days.
   Silence: Silence was the expectation in the guesthouse kitchen and dining room (where we got our own breakfast), in the public rooms and garden, and in the refectory where we ate our noon and evening meals with the brothers.
   During those community meals there was no conversation, but, it was not silent. In keeping with the monastic tradition, one of the brothers read aloud. The choice was not some theological treaties of old, but a sociological study of current interest: Better Boys, Better Men, The New Masculinity that Creates Greater Courage and Emotional Resilency, by Andrew Reiner (2021). (This reading choice clearly exemplifies the mission of this community of Episcopal monks “to critically engage with contemporary culture.”)
   Solitude: my own room, my own cell with a bed, desk, easy chair, and sink. I could have been in comfortable solitude there all day. The public rooms were empty except for breakfast in the morning. I was usually the only one in the large garden. The chapel was empty except for times of service.
   Simplicity: consistency was the highlight of simplicity. I participated in the daily office with the monks; morning prayer at 6; Eucharist at 8; noonday prayer at 12:30; evening prayer at 6; and compline at 8:30. The order of scripture readings is complex, but it was enough to close my eyes and listen.
   I kept the rest of my schedule simple: walks along the Charles, a trip to the Mt. Auburn Cemetery, a visit to the Fogg Museum. Simplicity was up to me. Simplicity is up to me going forward.
   (To honor privacy, I didn't take pictures in side the monastery.)

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Stillness in the midst of silence, solitude, and simplicity

Solitude with four in the house

Just breathe

Alone at the cottage-by-the-sea

E. JEAN CARROLL and Neil Armstrong

It's the feeling, not the circumstance.

Let's keep walking the high road together

The Put and Take--a place to give and receive

Silence, solitude and simplicity at SSJE

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