The dream of my life Is to lie down by a slow river And stare at the light in the trees — To learn something by being nothing A little while but the rich Lens of attention.
~ Mary Oliver from "Entering the Kingdom" in DEVOTIONS
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Silence is the matrix from which word is born, the home to which word returns through understanding. Word (in contrast to chatter) does not break the silence.
In a genuine word, silence comes to word. In genuine understanding, word comes home into silence. For those who know only the world of words, silence is mere emptiness. But our silent heart knows the paradox: the emptiness of silence is inexhaustibly rich; all the words in the world are merely a trickle of its fullness.