Silence My Old Friend

“Sounds of Silence” Simon and Garfunkle

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

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
‘Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

“Fools”, said I, “You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you”
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls”
And whispered in the sounds of silence

For your consideration……

Usually I have no idea why the messages come in as they do. But I think I do today. I was reminded of thoughts I have recently had in school. It is scary to me that so many of our young people absolutely can not tolerate silence. Some are even terrified of it.

Our young people are so plugged in that they do not even have a thought nor will they consider unplugging for even a moment. It is getting increasingly hard for teachers to insist that their phones be put away during class. On an increasing basis, teachers are compromising and letting they listen to music once the lesson has been taught and they are working on homework. Silence is not a word they will even consider. Further and even scarier is that they are afraid of it. If you ask a class to be still and close their eyes for a moment…. just a moment…..it is readily apparent how uncomfortable so many of them are. That is an example. But it is not only young people. Increasingly, adults are finding it difficult to unplug and commit to a few moments of silence.

We spend one third of our lives sleeping. It is in this silence that our Guidance is able to communicate with us. Often we do not remember. What of the other two thirds of our life? Most of us can not hear our Guidance of the screaming of our and others egos, music, cell phones etc.

Our authentic self is our reality. It is always available. It is our truth. We need to shut out the noise to hear it and let it converse with our Guidance. There is no reason to fear it. It always comes from a loving place.

That is the HOPE. And so it is.

Bit by bit, piece by piece, HOPE by HOPE action steps anyone can take……..

-Meditate/pray….listen to your authentic self.

-Drink lots of water to help with clarity.

-Get outdoors and take in at least 10 deep breaths. Let Mother Nature nurture you.

-Commit to silence in at least part of your day or night.

What made me smile yesterday……

-Michelle at Michaels in Ann Arbor was wonderful. She helped me pick out the perfect framing for my DNA artwork by Marie-Cecile.

-Many errands done.

-It rained most of the day but each time I had to step outside, it would hold off. Magical.

-Alex had a great flying day.

-Catching up with Shannon on her way to the ladies “wine club”.

-Bruce says, “Yup, that’s our girls. One is on her way to wine club and the other the officer’s club.” Hey, they are entitled to down time. They both work hard in stressful jobs. I am very proud of them.

Love, Blessings and Gratitude,

Rev. Chris