Shared Silence

Lake Alpine-photo by Libby Fife 2014

I have been trying all day to get back some thoughts that I had earlier this morning. They might be gone. They came to me as I was walking this morning and I think they showed up because everything was very quiet. It's hard to still your mind isn't it but something about the repetitive nature of hearing your own footsteps on the gravel tends to focus everything down. It's why as much as I like saying hello to people on these walks it is almost counterproductive to thinking clearly. It's kind of a dual gift though: human contact versus clarity of thinking.  And it's the idea too that other people may be interrupting their own rhythms to greet me.  There is an underlying connection there though since for me, both actions help me to feel more in touch with God. So, I have to remember to feel grateful for both things and if my brilliant idea from this morning is gone, so be it. It may come back, you never know.

In the meantime, here is a very short essay that showed up in my news feed this morning. Another take on the idea of "shared silence."

Libby