Friday, February 28, 2014

Silence by Alan Reynolds.




SILENCE


            Silence is golden, our grandmothers used to say.  And though we don't often remember it, it is true.  Silence is golden!

            I stand on my skis on Holly burn Ridge where two trails cross.  No one else is around.  Around me the air is thick with fog, and heavy.  The mountain is socked in with heavy cloud. Everything is not only quiet, but completely muffled, absolutely still.  Green trees fade into grey ghosts twenty or thirty yards from where I stand. 


            The snow lies on the ground and on the trees about me. Flakes that are almost rain fall softly, silently.  There is not a sound. 


            I stand and listen.  The silence seems so good.  It feels so right.  In the words of the twenty-third psalm, it "restores my soul." 

            So much of modern life is noise.  The radio is blaring.  The television is on, constantly it seems.  People are always talking.  And around us, in our homes, there is always the sound of a motor -- the refrigerator, the furnace, someone's electric razor or hair dryer.  We don't hear them consciously, but something is usually buzzing.  Always noise. 

            Many years ago, far away from here, I stood on a country hillside, beside a farmhouse, in the chill darkness of a winter's night.  A clear, still night.  A night when you could hear the stars.  On the slope the other side of the valley were the lights of distant houses and the occasional bark of a dog.  I still remember, years later, the silence of that night, when every sound was audible.


            "Be still and know that I am God," the Bible says (Psalm 46:10).  



            Sometimes it's only in the silence, in the stillness, that, listening, we can hear, and know!

5 comments:

Glynis said...

Alan, my most favourite scripture verse is the one you speak of here. Psalm 46:10 - Be still and know that I am God. It holds precious meaning and courage for me. Thank you for reminding me about the need for a little tranquillity and a lot of God in my life! Blessings. A lovely post.

Donna Mann said...

Your post quiets me in my busy day. Thanks.

Tracy Krauss said...

Just the calming influence I needed after a very hectic week

Kimberley Payne said...

My daughter and I laugh when we watch The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and he cries, "Noise. Noise. Noise!"

Psalm 46:10 is refreshing not only at Christmas but always.

Peter Black said...

Alan, that's one of my favourite verses, too. And yet, my interest in current affairs, draws me to news and c/affairs programming. And my interest in making music draws me to making a lot of noise.
Yes, your post speaks to me. ~~+~~

Popular Posts