On three occasions in the past week we've walked in spots where there was very little human-made noise. There were the sounds of birds and of wind in the trees but we were blessedly free of intrusive mechanical noise. On our foray to Lodge Point at Sandbanks Provincial Park we were alone as we walked out toward Lake Ontario and I asked our companion, our 9-year-old grandson to stop and tell me what he heard. He looked mildly puzzled and said "nothing", although he went on to mention the birds. I told him that we liked it there because so often we don't hear anything except natural sounds. His hearing is keen and ours is failing but we all benefitted from "the sounds of silence."
Human beings are often uncomfortable with silence and even suspicious of it. In the latest issue of Orion a biologist who spends extended periods in a blind in the wilderness, far from other people, writes that her temperament is well suited for the role. Over the years people have commented to her "you're quiet", a mixture of bemusement and reproach.
Casa del Sol, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico
Many people in ministry are introverts who appreciate silence and solitude as aspects of the spiritual life, even though they live out their vocation in extroverted and social congregational life. We may try to point out that Moses and Elijah and Jesus and Paul spent extended periods of time listening for God in the silence but it doesn't always fly. The other day I was recalling the times I spent at various retreats including Ghost Ranch in the high plateau of New Mexico. Nearby there was a Roman Catholic monastery and a Sufi retreat centre.
I pulled out my copy of Holy Silence by Brent Bill, my favourite Quaker writer (I honestly don't know of many others.) His first chapter is called Silence: The Quaker Sacrament. He compares the experience of silence to the mystery of the real presence of Christ in the Roman Catholic eucharist, and I really like that notion. You may be aware that Quaker meetings are often held in the silence.
To careen from the sublime to the ridiculous, there is a scene in the highly irreverent series Fleabag when the main character goes to a Quaker meeting house in Soho, a busy part of London. The priest who takes her there explains the concept of expectant silence which doesn't fit her personality at all, but she's fallen in love with him. Awkward hilarity ensues. This is filmed in Westminster Quaker meeting house which goes back to the mid-1600's in various locations.
Well, this blog entry is a bit of a ramble, isn't it? All to say, I hope Spring, which begins tomorrow, brings many more opportunities for the sacrament of silence.
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