Stillness is what creates love,
Movement is what creates life,
To be still,
Yet still moving—
That is everything!
—DO HYUN CHOE, Japanese Master
I just spent a couple of days at a retreat. One of the main activities during our time is to listen to each other’s stories. I have been retreating in this manner with some of these people for more than a decade. Over that time we have heard each other’s story many times but I still look forward to catching up.
I often wonder what is the gift that is received during these times. Each of our stories is very ordinary, with the usual mixture of failure, successes and transitions. We laugh often, cry sometimes and respond to each other’s voice, so our time is not a deathly 24 hour silence. It’s a time that’s full of life that keeps us coming back over and over.
Perhaps as Do Hyun Choe says, “it’s that stillness that creates love.” Giving our presence in a quiet space is something that is life giving for each of us. Our souls are given a little more light to be able to reenter the fray.
I know that these quiet spaces can be difficult to find in a busy life. There is always one more email needing a response, another phone call to make, or that one more thing to check off on that unattainable checklist of perfection.
Last week in a small orphanage that My family supports in Asia a small life passed from this earth. I stopped and considered his life. A different voice emerged to me that day. His was a short story that impacted on a few lives on a world with many busy souls.
The words, “A voice speaking to me”, in the midst of the “raucous din”, reminded me of there are important things to consider that needed to be sifted from all of my activity. A reminder to stop and listen because there may be an important voice that I have not heard that I need to hear.
Still – For David
A breath of stillness passes by,
A whisper that is barely caught
I was still just now,
I heard a voice speaking,
Love and hope for those left behind.A life passes sadly in the din,
Barely heard,
A small voice in a crowd,
Eternity cries out to me,
Be still and hear him now.What does this life say to me?
I pray my soul is not deafened,
To the cry of the poor,
Not drowned out,
by a raucous busy life.I took a moment to be still,
I heard a voice speaking,
I took a moment to be still,
I heard his voice speaking to me.