I have thought that silence is being silent in a quiet atmosphere: there are no sounds; nothing moves; everything stops working.
However, it is exactly the opposite. Being in silence was the time I found the most noisy. Why is that?
In silence, my senses seem to work more efficiently.
I heard clearly:
Birds are chirping to each other,
Small fishes are singing together,
Insects are talking.
Ants are whispering and carrying foods back to their nests,
Roots are transferring nutrients to the trunk, branches, and leaves,
Rocks are lying firmly on the roadside and having a deep conversation
Clouds are running in a slow race and providing peaceful sounds,
The glorious sunshine is shaking with laughter.
In silence, everything becomes more active.
When I sit quietly,
I hear every beat of my heart,
Blood flows rhythmically throughout my body,
Every breath is steady and gentle,
Every cell operates miraculously and delicately,
Especially, the nervous system, the speed of neurons is faster than the speed of light.
Everything is alive in me.
In silence, I get into another world, another relationship. Everything operates rhythmically. In that world, I enter the interrelationships with myself, creatures, and particularly, the One who loves me-GOD.
I stayed still before the Eucharist and contemplated His Face. The whole life of Jesus is wrapped up in a small simple piece of bread. Because of love, God came and has stayed with humanity.
My heart is pounding. I start a heartfelt conversation with God. I realize how close God is. God looks at me with merciful eyes and embraces my weaknesses. God fills my heart with love so that, in this moment, there are no spaces for emptiness or loneliness. God sows joy, happiness and peace in my soul.
The abundant and unconditional love that God freely gives me invites me to become like Jesus each day. I am a treasured gift of God, a grace that God created on this earth. I believe that God has a precious plan for me. I just need to hold his hand tightly and let Him guide me, take me to wherever He needs me.
In the book The Only Necessary Thing, the writer Henri Nouwen mentions that our souls should become quiet rooms where God can dwell. No matter where we go or what we do, the more time we spend with God, the more we discover that God is always present with us everywhere and at any time.
Indeed, in silence, God holds me in his arms, smiles at me, shares with me many sad and happy stories, teaches me good and right things and so on.
I live in God because God always lives in me.
Silence gives me life and love.
Your reflection touches me deeply, My Dung, so grateful that you have shared this very personal experience.
Thank you so much for this insightful reflection. I love the ways you describe all that you hear in the silence – birds chirping, small fishes singing, ants whispering, rocks lying firmly on the roadside having a deep conversation, glorious sunshine shaking with laughter, … every beat of my heart, blood flowing rhythmically, every breath steady and gentle – the speed of neurons faster than the speed of light, culminating in the awareness that “Everything is alive in me”. What a beautiful “ode to joy”.
Thank you Veronica for making My Dung’s reflection more inspiring with the beautiful pictures. Our congregation is blessed with these energetic and contemplative young women/novices. They bring much joys to our journey as pilgrims of HOPE.