At the Shore of Silence

When times seem to lapse backwards and we’re thrown again into thoughts and emotions from long ago, or we sink into a trough that seems as though all our gains have been lost, we need to remember that this too is part of the cycle of things. There are seasons where trees lose their leaves and stand bare, where it seems as though the earth is barren and nothing will ever grow again, but it only appears that way.  This is easy to understand when we look at outer seasons, but as an inner season it can be hard to bear. Yet seeds grow underground, and for something new to grow there has to be a time of discontinuity, a break. For the inner landscape to rearrange itself, there needs to be a time of hibernation. It’s a time to be tender toward yourself and others, a time to treat yourself with compassion.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Is My Soul Asleep?

Is my soul asleep?
Have those beehives that labor
at night stopped? And the water-
wheel of thought,
is it dry, the cups empty,
wheeling, carrying only shadows?

No, my soul is not asleep,
It is awake, wide awake.
It neither sleeps nor dreams, but watches,
its clear eyes open,
far-off things, and listens
at the shores of the great silence.

– Antonio Machado –
(translated by Robert Bly)

~~~~~~~~~~~

Trough

There is a trough in waves,
A low spot
Where horizon disappears
And only sky
And water
Are our company.

And there we lose our way
Unless
We rest, knowing the wave will bring us
To its crest again.

There we may drown
If we let fear
Hold us within its grip and shake us
Side to side,
And leave us flailing, torn, disoriented.

But if we rest there
In the trough,
Are silent,
Being with
The low part of the wave,
Keeping
Our energy and
Noticing the shape of things,
The flow,
Then time alone
Will bring us to another
Place
Where we can see
Horizon, see the land again,
Regain our sense
Of where
We are,
And where we need to swim.

-Judy Sorum Brown –
From: The Sea Accepts All Rivers
https://www.judysorumbrown.com/blog/tough-times