To be empty is to practice letting go of the fears that possess us and to be more attached to the substance of life, the love in the silence. To be empty is to be available for the riches of the hidden harmony instead of the substitutions our fears would have us settle for. With emptiness as a friend we are brought to a new fullness of quiet, a fullness that comes from our commitment to a life in the silence. We make more room for emptiness as we value the wonder, the grand heights, and quiet recesses of silence. We find more emptiness as we commit ourselves to the mysteries worth beholding, to the inner life that has more space and appreciation to expand in our emptiness.
In the silence, ask to learn
how to give of yourself,
how to forgive others, and
how to live with gratitude.
Thus, we need not seek inner peace:
Peace will find us!
Blessed are you who forgive
without remembering
and
you who receive forgiveness
without forgetting.
Even as the silence exposes my subtle deceptions, my inauthenticity, my "sins" (much deeper than a mere catalog of misdeeds) -- it exposes at the same time God's unconditional love for me:
- surprising in its lack of judgment,
- astounding in its completeness,
- and flavored with a sweet forgiveness.