Monday, February 7, 2011

Silence and Action

Once we know that we're called to make a difference in the world, life is a never-ending adventure. It's rarely dull or easy and it's almost always interesting. Consider the relationship between action and silence and the need for wisdom moving between the two.
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However daunting a situation may seem, as soon as we say or do something, it is suddenly transformed. When the door of hesitation is unlocked, we enter a dynamic, fluid world, which challenges us to act and act again. The most soul-searching meditation on ethics leaves the world intact; a single word or deed can transform it forever. --Stephen Batchelor

Perhaps the most important thing we bring to another person is the silence in us. Not the sort of silence that is filled with unspoken criticism or hard withdrawal. The sort of silence that is filled with refuge or rest, of acceptance of someone as they are. We are all hungry for this other silence. It is hard to find. In its presence we can remember something beyond the moment, a strength on which to build a life. Silence is a place of great power and healing. Silence is the lap of God. --Rachel Naomi Remen

"By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures."
--Proverbs 24:3-4