Our Need for Silence
Reverend Tom Capo led a Vespers service on October 28th, during which the following readings were offered with long period of silent reflection. After each period of silence, those present were given time to offer verbal reflections on the readings. These readings are offered below so that you might read them, sit with them in silence, then write or talk about them. Silence is an important part of spiritual growth.
When
I work too hard and then lie down,
Even
my sleep is sad and all worn out.
You
want me to name the specific sorrows?
They
do not matter. You have your own.
Most
of the people in the world
Go
out to work, day after day,
With
their voices in their throats.
I
am swimming a narrow, swift river.
Upstream,
the clouds have already darkened
And
deep blue holes I cannot see
Churn
up under the smooth flat rocks.
The
Greeks have a word, paopono,
For
the complaint without an answer,
All
the time our faces appear calm
Enough
to float through in the moonlight.
By Maggie Anderson
For
as we venture forth today,
Know
that you will see
A
better day.
For
the rumblings of the Earth
Will
bring forth a dawn…
And
… the suffering and hate and sadness
Will be banished from our paradise
And
be buried in the womb of Mother Earth
To
be our jewels of the future.
Observe
the transformation,
Know,
love and respect yourself.
For
it is in the love that we feel for ourselves
That
will dissolve the salts of fear
And
the bitterness of hate.
Know
who you are, be kind to yourself,
Forgive
yourself. Effortlessly ride
Your
swell through life,
Gliding
through the ups and downs.
Always
know there
Is
a powerful retreat inside
That
no other energy
Can
invade or destroy…
By Deborah Clark
