becoming a friend of silence

two weekends ago, my team, and the rest of the tri-state teams, got together and drove to south new jersey for a solitude retreat. our time together was truly amazing. it was good timing for me because recently i've been reading a lot about solitude and silence. both are hard to come by in the city. working 6 days a week, living with 5 roommates, and chasing around screaming kids don't exactly cultivate an environment for silence and meditation.

this retreat, however, gave us the opportunity to take a step back and spend time doing both. i won't bore you with the details, but something profound, something simple, happened in my heart during our time away. it was just what i needed. we also ate a meal in silence. i felt like a modern day monk (which, believe it or not, is kind of a dream come true for me). even though we didn't communicate with one another in words, i felt deeply connected to my friends and teammates during our mealtime. together we were consciously giving up speaking, seeking to listen to the spirit's urging in our hearts. at the silent lunch it hit me how beautiful it is to be silent with others. i've never been so aware of every bite of food, so thankful for each mouthful, so glad to be sharing a meal with my friends.

it's all really hard to explain, but in many ways i feel obligated to try. i don't want these moments to go unshared, no matter how much is lost in translation.

tonight, we're heading up to philly to do 'pauper's rite of passage'. essentially, we're learning about homelessness and trying to, as much as possible in our limited time, to have solidarity with the homeless. we'll be sleeping on the floor tonight and, from what i understand, tomorrow will be spent fending for ourselves on the streets. i think some pan-handling may be involved. i would be lying if i said i was excited for this weekend. i'm not. i'm confident it will be a profound experience (seems to be the only kind of experience i'm having as of late). i'll let you know how it goes.

'god is the friend of silence. see how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. we need silence to be able to touch souls.' the mother (teresa)

'in the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in an clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. our life is a long and arduous quest after truth.' gandhi