Friday, July 4, 2008

Silence. A Benedictine Oblate Blog


Silence has been on my mind recently because I am away from home in a cabin that is quiet when the rest of our family group is away on an outing.

While it is good to be with them for many reasons, when the rest of our group is away, the total absence of any manmade noise coupled with my wife and I being quiet makes those times very special while we are here.

We moved some more comfortable wooden chairs to the front porch were the view is better and treasure the whole feeling. We are about 3,500 feet above sea level here.(Remember to read the tiny, hard-to-spot high-altitude instructions if you bake a cake at this altitude!)

It is very rare that I am in a place that has no manmade sound — no car, air conditioning, or airplane noise and no sound of people talking.

A natural quiet is difficult to find.

With a cup of tea and a very tasty piece of cake that has been trimmed of all its burnt crust, it is quiet enough that this silence becomes part of a prayer.

1 comment:

  1. Hi John, My name is Dave and I have been reading your blog for about a week or two and really like what I am reading. Oblate monasticism is very important to me. I am an oblate from St.Meinrad in Indiana, but I am from Dayton Ohio residing with my wife and kids. Silence is a topic that I would like to study more in depth. could you suggest reading material on this. To quote the movie, "Into Great Silence" silence is the first language of God. If you like to email a response instead of using a public forum, you can email me at dabshear1@woh.rr.com
    Benedictine Peace,
    Dave

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