Please Teach Me

Dear Silence,
Please show me
your ways – again
I am beginning – again
Please take my knowing
Teach me to cherish
Not Knowing mind

Teach me to hear you
inside this noisy,
troubled world
Let me see You everywhere
because You are
Please help me remember
that Silence includes
and widens everything,
rounds the edges
of everything

Please give me words
that won’t create ache,
that will be helpful
when help is needed,
that will speak Love
to the pain in our world

Teach me to speak like
the mountain
the lizard
the lion
the forests
the sea

Deep bow


Questions for Contemplation

Is there a phrase in this poem that speaks to you and that you’d like to contemplate? If so, take a few minutes to relax and quiet your mind – then bring the phrase into your awareness. Notice what images, feelings and/or physical sensations arise. Take some time to just be with whatever presents itself. Then, if you are drawn to do so, free write in response to a feeling, image, or sensation that was present for you.

What place does Silence have in your life? How is Silence beneficial for you? If you’d like to experience Silence more often, what realistic, attainable steps might you take to bring that about?