“And I listen and I think. Time doesn’t seem to pass here; it just is.” – Bilbo Baggins
Silence called to me from a special place. A place, that like its name, conjures up images of forest and faeries.
Like Bilbo, it is at Rivendell I find myself most able to think, to hear the thoughts and ideas bubbling up as though from a wellspring deep inside.
The sacred space, the silence, allow me to turn off the busyness of my life. My heart expands and I breathe deeply.
New thoughts emerge effortlessly as old thoughts play themselves out. It is easy to be at Rivendell; it offers itself up, a gift to unwrap slowly. An opportunity to treasure each moment, each thought that arises.
- What is it that I am truly offering?
- What is authentically, gloriously mine?
These are the questions I hear as I walk the labyrinth.
I remember a line from a Leonard Cohen song,
“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”
Time after time I return to the silence to heal, to restore myself, to let the light in.
At night I read Rumi, letting his words lull me to sleep, so beautiful they reach out to touch me as I dream.
“All day I think about it, then at night I say it. Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing? I have no idea. My soul is from elsewhere, I’m sure of that, and I intend to end up there.”
I walk. I rest. I wait.
Patiently I wait, I am in no hurry here.
The view from my room calms me,
helps to quiet the angst that tries to creep in as I let myself think and question.
- What am I ready to let go of?
- What is waiting to be birthed?
I walk. I rest. I wait. I am in no hurry here.
At Rivendell I am like Linus, securely wrapped up in his blanket. I long to keep this place in my heart, a touchstone to ground me when I am home.
While there, a friend passes away, leaving a community inspired by her life. There is sadness, but there is also peace.
“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”
She leaves a legacy:
1. Love everyone
2. Acknowledge everyone
3. Forgive everyone
4. Be compassionate
If I let them, her words to live by, will break open the crack and the light as always, will shine through.
“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”
You having space to hear yourself think only means good things for the rest of us, so thanks for taking our deva coach’s brain on a re-treat!
xoK
Space to think is an essential for me, and I’ve learned over the years the cost of not honouring that space is too great.
Actually speechless. wow. That is all.
Hi Sandi,
This is simply..beautiful. I never did a silent retreat, although I meditate everyday I never took entire days to do it.
Thanks for this, one day I need to venture West 🙂