Since coming to the cottage I have been thinking and reading about solitude, as well as doing a fair share of observing it. But today it occurred to me that I haven’t been practicing being silent in any conscious way. Sure it’s quiet in the cottage, no talking, no TV, very little music, but all of that really just acts as “background quiet”.
In her chapter on silence in Lost in Wonder, Esther de Wall writes: “I love that gentle advice which tells us to find the position most comfortable in which to sit perfectly still ‘as if we do not wish to disturb a bird that has flown down and is resting on our head’.”
I tried just that and was delighted with the silence I encountered. The chatter in my head dissipated (somewhat) as I looked at the waves, the mergansers, and the gulls. I wonder if silences is about not dealing with words. For me, at least today, it was about seeing and listening to that powerful silence.
In her chapter on silence in Lost in Wonder, Esther de Wall writes: “I love that gentle advice which tells us to find the position most comfortable in which to sit perfectly still ‘as if we do not wish to disturb a bird that has flown down and is resting on our head’.”
I tried just that and was delighted with the silence I encountered. The chatter in my head dissipated (somewhat) as I looked at the waves, the mergansers, and the gulls. I wonder if silences is about not dealing with words. For me, at least today, it was about seeing and listening to that powerful silence.