Happy Monday!
I hope you had a lovely weekend and are ready for the promises of the week ahead!
Last week I spent some time listening to wisdom from current leaders who have insight into the complexity of our contemporary world situation. As I quietly reflected on the various subjects and messages, the reality of the power, importance, and blessing of silence directed me to dedicate more time to the practice.
There was a brief clip from Maggie Gobran, an Orthodox Coptic Christian in Egypt who is affectionately known as Mama Maggie. Mama Maggie received the International Women of Courage Award by the Department of State of the United States in 2019 and is well-known throughout the world for her charitable organization, Stephen’s Children. The non-profit organization purposes to improve the lives of children in the slums of Cairo.
Following are her thoughts on silence:
In appreciating the silence and practicing the discipline, we receive wisdom and insight that aren’t available in our very busily organized lives. We spend so much time striving that the power of quiet repose often escapes us, and we fail to access the beauty and peace that the practice provides. We’re not wired for the ‘pause’ in life; we’re geared for the frenetic accomplishing that must be done.
Many of us need to complete a multitude of tasks before we can feel complete or even deserving of quiet time. Often, we don’t pause long enough to appreciate the power and freedom of listening to what’s beyond our present situation. I find it interesting that taking the time to experience the silence is the perfect prescription for healing whatever needs to be made right in our lives.
William Penn, colonial writer and founder of Pennsylvania, once wrote:
“True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment, and refreshment.”
I’m reminded of an old song from the 1960s. This folk-rock song has been added to the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress for its cultural and historical relevance. If you haven’t listened to it, you might look up the Simon and Garfunkel song, The Sound of Silence. The song begins with these lyrics:
“Hello darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence”
The meaning reportedly accredited to Garfunkel is:
“…the inability of people to communicate with each other, not particularly internationally but especially emotionally, so what you see around you are people unable to love each other.”
Interesting how history repeats itself.
We see in the gospels that Jesus often went off alone to pray. He modeled an appreciation for silence. (all NKJV)
Luke 9:18 – “And it happened, as He was alone praying…”
Luke 9:36 – “When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.”
John 6:15 – “…He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.”
John 6:22 – “…Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone…”
Compelling reasons to embrace the silence. Listen beyond the words. Take your thoughts captive and then silence them to hear what your heart is saying. Quiet your heart to allow voice to your spirit. And then silence your spirit to hold space for the Divine.
My prayer for you this week is that you’ll avail yourselves of the ‘pause’ and become comfortable in the silence, allowing precious illumination to speak into your circumstances.
Be Well & Be Blessed!
Lucinda
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