On Keeping Silence

These days I am a keeper of silence. Oh, things get in the way, of course. Like when I had to reset the clock after our power went out briefly. I managed to reset it but I accidentally set it for the alarm to go off. Now I have to figure out how to turn it off!

This morning I woke up feeling antsy, so I am slowing everything way down in order to soothe my nerves. They are jangled because of Rob’s covid. Thank goodness, so far nothing frightening has happened to him. I have kept him in fluids and easy-to eat foods. I have also taken over his duties in the house.

But back to silence. For decades I have felt guilty over not having a social life, but now it is inevitable. I embrace it and pray it continues. In retrospect, I was never someone who enjoyed socializing. For me, an introvert and a spiritual student, it seemed like I could never be who I truly was.

Twice in my life, someone has told me that I had a lot of power and that does not lend itself to chitchat. I feel that I was born with it and that as I deepened my spiritual practice, so did the power. It is not something I use; it is something that I am without taking thought. You feel it when I write because I try and write the truth. God IS a jealous god in the sense that if you are too social, He will not come in. The sacred does not like the profane.

So what has silence done for me? It gives me time for the things that the soul thrives on. It thrives on honesty, for one thing. It also thrives on anyone that returns to Source for its healing.

So here I am, alone to the Alone. Nothing I write matters. Nothing I say matters. The Tao flows on without any mental help at all. Loved ones die and it flows on. Countries fall and it flows on. Time takes everything away from us and it flows on.

Grace and silence are often connected. It is only by the grace of God that goodness falls down around us like a mantle. First we surrender and then we experience grace. Everything is lawful; everything in its time. Hallelujah!

Vicki Woodyard