The Sounds of Silence
“Drink water from the spring where horses drink. The horse will never drink bad water. Lay your bed where the cat sleeps. Eat the fruit that has been touched by a worm. Boldly pick the mushroom on which the insects sit. Plant the tree where the mole digs. Build your house where the snake sits to warm itself. Dig your fountain where the birds hide from the heat. Go to sleep and wake up at the same time with the birds – you will reap all of the days’ golden grains. Eat more green – you will have strong legs and a resistant heart, like the beings of the forest. Swim often and you will feel on earth like the fish in the water. Look at the sky as often as possible and your thoughts will become light and clear. Be quiet a lot, speak little – and silence will come in your heart, and your spirit will be calm and full of peace.”
– Saint Seraphim of Sarov
“Seraphim extended the monastic teachings of contemplation, theoria and self-denial to the layperson … Perhaps his most popular quotation amongst his devotees is “acquire a peaceful spirit, and thousands around you will be saved.” – wikipedia
I am not much for Russian Orthodoxy at all, but even a blind pig like me (found that quote on a friend’s facebook feed) – finds an acorn every now and then. This has been an unusually rocky week – losing another person I know to these times of not one, but “two nations,” only somewhat “under god,” and extremely “divisible” and forget about “with liberty and justice for all.” U.S. Civics, like facts, are stubborn things. It is obvious to me, our educational system has failed miserably in the area of teaching government and civics, and now democracy suffers under the deficit. I saw Maya Angelou say one day, here in Denton, Texas, “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.” I definitely need to be a better listener.
AND, it is time now for me to take Saint Seraphim’s words to heart, go out seek silence and isolation, look at the sky … and let the line fly. Is it any wonder? A fly line literally hangs in the air. We spend a lot of energy just to see the sky with our lines flying through it. It falls, and connects us to another element, if we aren’t already standing in it – water. And in the cold, we retreat to our fires as the ancients once did, staring at the coals, our minds joining with air, water and fire in the moment and in time.
Be sure to check back tomorrow! Today’s video from Lake Ray Roberts, Texas, was pretty incredible!
Category: Body-Mind-Soul, Fly Fisher Health and Wellness
