Daily Beauty, Day #8: Experience of Silence

This morning the sunshine streamed down as I ventured outside. Lingering sleep clung to my mind and slowed my steps. But as my pace grew quicker, I emerged from my reverie and instead became a part of my surroundings. I was absorbed into them in some strange way and thought became unnecessary. Rather than thinking, I could feel: feel the mild, gentle air; feel the vibrant light that danced around me; feel the brightness of the world in which I wandered. This beauty is beyond thoughts, beyond words, in a way that transcends the earthly realm and extends unto its Origin.

I am thankful that I can feel this joy that reaches out to me. Because some days I do not. My feelings become bottled inside, separating me from all except my own petty problems. I am inclined to close myself off, to exist within this whirlpool of my thoughts. But there is so much more that can be mine: beauty and wonder far greater than the limits of my humble self.

Today I paused. In the middle of my journey. How often do we pause? How often do we pause long enough to forget where we are going and remember where we are? When I stopped, I could see the sunlight sparkling across the snow. I focused on its shimmer and for a moment thought of nothing else. There was nothing else except beauty. This experience of silence was not detachment; in this moment in fact, I was most attached, most connected to the truth that guides my steps. In this moment, I was most near to Him who places beauty before my eyes and allows me to choose whether or not I will see it.