The Quiet Speaks

Sometimes I find myself becoming unsure of where I stand when I become still and quiet. Suddenly, I can feel somewhat diminished. At times I have sat with people I love and “Don’t know what to say” only because I feel I “Have to say something.” I am conditioned to believe that words and language are the only valuable way to connect. I may not have anything to “verbalize” at times but I do have lots to communicate. I noticed that all levels of communication open when I allow myself to breathe and reconnect to the body and presence.  

There is a time to express oneself and during the past several months certainly points directly to that need. We become passionate and commit to taking action. It makes a huge difference to us when we follow through on expressing what insists needing to be expressed.

Yet there is also a type of communication and personal expression that exists in conjunction with direct action. It is being with another in direct presence and sharing that time with no need to use language to express the feelings. It manifests itself when an artist communes with their art, it rises when you sit quietly with someone you care about in bonded silence, and it shines in the morning sun and moon as I sit and reflect on their beauty and grace. It is deeply felt in community during silent vigil, prayers, meditations, and witnessing. It’s the communication that occurs when you notice the little smiles or someone standing quietly with tears streaming down their face. There is nothing to say and the quiet speaks.

We can also communicate by being present with those things in the world we care about. What I have noticed during those times is how deeply felt feelings are and of the intense connection that rises when I simply hold the experience without having to create any story, description, or concepts. Sometimes, not always, but some of the time, the thing that speaks and defines who we are is to stand in quiet sharing while noticing the depths that exist in all of us.

Take are of you,

Bryan