In The Silence

When I was young, my parents apparently quickly identified that I needed alone time. I was the second of five children, the oldest girl. My two brothers shared one large bedroom and we three sisters shared the other large bedroom. My parents had theirs – and there was a small fourth bedroom. I don’t remember what it was used for.

Then the unexpected happened, by me anyway. My parents gave me the fourth bedroom. To make the experience even more special, they let me pick out a new bedspread and curtains and the wall color to match. I chose a yellow and white striped spread with some orange and forest green accents. They had a chair I liked to read in re-covered in forest green to match. I was thrilled.

Whenever I fell into a bad mood, they sent me to my room to read not really as a punishment but because, they said, when I re-emerged I was my usually sunny personality.

All this is a lead up to show how much the Daily Word for February 19 means to me: In the Silence. Back when I was a girl, I had no clue about being in the silence, about being one with Holy Spirit, about affirmative prayer or about Unity principles. My parents, though, knew I needed silence. From the meditation:

Mother Teresa once said: “God is the friend of silence.” I feel my oneness with Spirit when I choose to spend time in the Silence. As I do this regularly, I experience an unmistakable sense of peace. I find clarity in all that I do. I forgive more easily. I open myself to new and profound inspiration.

For a short time after I moved out of my family’s home I shared an apartment with one of my sisters. Soon I was able to purchase my beloved little yellow house in my home town in a suburb of Illinois. I loved living alone. I didn’t care a whole lot about decorating my house but I did create a quiet, comfortable haven for myself to come home to either after school, after work or after being out socializing with friends. My little house on Morgan Ave. was my private space where I could be in the silence whenever I wanted.

Then in 2002 I fell in love, got married and moved to New Jersey. All of a sudden, I was sharing a home with another person. It took me awhile to learn how to create my own space, privacy and silence while living with someone. I made over a room upstairs into a sitting room for myself. I bought a couple book shelves where I keep many of my spiritual books. I have a comfortable chair by one of the windows where I can look out over our field where our three alpacas live. Most importantly, I can sit there in the silence, I can journal in that chair when I’m sorting something out.

Continuing the mediation:

I live, however, in a world that is not completely quiet. In order to find silence in the midst of the everyday clamor of life, I take a moment to close my eyes and find an inner quiet and calm. It was there all along. I simply needed to remember. I can draw on this divine serenity at any time. I simply choose to release any concerns or anxiety. 

Be still, and know that I am God! – Psalm 46:10

This is true when I’m home. This is true when I take a moment in my car to breath. This is true when I’m outside walking my dog. Finally, the affirmation:

I immerse myself in the loving, comforting awareness of Spirit.

And that is what I hope for each and every one of us.

~ JEAN