Silence brings us far beyond soundlessness, it quiets our senses and spirit and tunes our heart for a deep and delicate listening. For, silence is a primal language which speaks and listens from the heart. It is not the only language through which we communicate with God, but it is a necessary second language since the knowledge of God is received in divine silence. Like all other languages, silence is easily forgotten without practice and discipline.
It came to me while reflecting on that woodland encounter with the night that there are two very valuable spiritual gifts that simplicity gives to us. It seems the more we can strip our lives down to essentials, the more deliberately and awake we can live; with few wants and more time for silence and contemplation, the more we have access to our inner resources. The more lightly we walk on this earth, the more she gives to us. I call these spiritual gifts inner smiling and outgoingness of the heart.