I have returned from a three-day silent retreat at Bon Secours convent in Maryland. I came with zero expectations. I have done enough of these to know that what I want will be quickly pushed to the side in favor of what really needs to be Seen.
It was a very beautiful place. I loved the bare simplicity of the room (before I messed it up.)
Everything seemed just right. A beautiful view out the window.
Once the rustle of settling in quieted down, I could hear the sound of the little waterfall underneath my window. And that sound made me instantly unhappy.
If you visited my home in Montana, you don't need me to tell you why. But if you didn't, let me tell you that there was a beautiful creek and waterfall underneath our bedroom window that lulled us to sleep every night. It took me a little longer (but actually not that long) to figure it out.
And so it continued. A long weekend that I came to think of as "The Noticing Project." The small stuff. That wasn't always small. You can live in the most beautiful place on the planet and not have the smallest love you need. You can live in a very small place and have so much it can hardly be contained.
One time, one of my religion professors challenged us to pray out loud for half an hour, just locked away in our bedrooms alone. It doesn't sound like that big a thing, but it turned out to be. Three days of silence would be difficult for me, though. Part of my processing involves me hearing me say what I'm thinking. But then, maybe getting myself out of the way would involve not leaning on that.
The sound of water.
Posted by: Kristen | March 26, 2012 at 08:27 AM
I was at a chaplain's retreat this weekend and we did a Taize service Sat night, then went into silence till Sun morning. Lovely! Hope you came away with what you needed. -Jude
Posted by: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1150791490 | March 27, 2012 at 10:05 PM