Silence

One of the aspects of my life I recognize after my visit to Othona in October is a need for silence.  I do have times of silence in my day but often they are taken up by thoughts of work.  What I need to find is time for silent reflection.  I realized this immediately we arrived at Othona and have been thinking about it ever since.  Co-incidentally, a programme started on BBC on the Friday we returned, about 5 people who had gone into a silent retreat at a monastery in north Wales.  The 3 part series followed them through the time at the retreat and their re-entry into their daily lives.  If you live in the UK, you can watch the programme, which is called The Big Silence, on I-player.

So, have I found silence.  I came to realize that in fact I do have some silent times already.  One of them takes place when I swim.  I haven't swum regularly for nearly two weeks.  First it was because James and Naomi were visiting, then because I got a cold and either couldn't or didn't want to over do it.  I was very on edge and now I realize that it was not just because I missed the exercise but also because I missed the silent, reflection time.

(If you are reading this and the following comment is still here, it is because I haven't finished this post and will be back to it later.)