Our image of solitude is often negative: withdrawal, isolation, distance from others. But this misrepresents the hermitage which is like a silent, invisible spiritual concourse; a place where many can converge without sinking into a crowd, and become a community of love. Every human heart is a hermitage, if we care to enter and find ourselves there in union with all. In solitude friend, foe, and stranger are equally known in love.
Sheltering. That's a wonderful word. Very strong. I remember a wonderful little phrase that says a faithful friend is a sturdy shelter. We need shelters in life. We need sheltering from our parents when we are young. We need the shelter of good friends. I feel as if that's something we're really called to be for one another – is shelter.
Talking about connecting to a higher power: Whether we think of that higher power as God, or whether we think of that higher power as just our own inner wisdom, silence is absolutely imperative to get there...
That is where we always find our deepest wisdom.
Our activities in the world are really important. Being active helps us to gain skills and helps us to gain knowledge and build relationships.
But wisdom always comes out of silence.
~ Catherine Torpey, New Morning Treasury, thanks to Liz Stewart
