Be Still My Soul

Be still my soul, be still and know that I am God.  Be still, be quite, just be for a moment and let life resolve itself around you.  Sit and do nothing, let your spirit speak above the din and commotion that is our life, let our spirits sour through that silence within our minds.

Turn of the iPods, turn off the TV’s tune out from the harshness of continuous cacophonous noise and allow you to be heard.  We have a lot to say to ourselves, all we have to do is listen.  With all the clamor and clatter around us our own thoughts are lost, our minds our drowning in the ever present sound and unceasing decibels.  Be still my soul, sit still, meditate over the conflagrations of our world and the dangers that surround us.   

As a child and even today I try to sit and listen, tune out the freeway noise, the screaming kids, the lawnmowers and sirens blaring, listening to the undersounds, the natural resonances that make up our world.  The birds, the crickets, (expect those that escaped from our bearded chameleon and have set up shop behind the curio cabinet) the rustling of leaves from the gentle breeze, a faraway cry of a hunting falcon, these are the sounds that relax, that turn us inward and allow us to hear what really needs to be heard.

As technology expands so does our use of those devises and with an increased use of media comes a decrease in civility, sociability, a general loss of connectedness that is causing some serious psychological issues.   These advances are essential to our future but they must be metered and monitored, used in moderation.  

While visiting Sea World I noticed groups of individuals sitting close to each other but each in a solitary bubble of texting, searching or talking, ignoring the real persons within touching distance, ignoring the facial expressions of communication and focusing intently on the task of connecting to another faceless person as if they were afraid to simply turn and see the smiles or frowns, the joys and sorrows of those in need, including themselves. 

The recent bombings in Boston bring to mind the need to reflect and redirect our efforts toward connecting with those around us.   A moment of silence is appropriate, but let’s extend that silence to include the needs of all those who are in despair, all those who are wanting and in need.  Can you imagine a world if everyone simply stopped, turned around and looked at their neighbor, looked and really felt the needs of each other, if only for a moment, if the world could stop and reset its humanity what would the results look like?

When was the last time you stopped?  When was the last time you simply sat down and let the natural sounds of life enter our soul?  Be still my soul, be quite, be alive in the understanding of the secrets of life only revealed though our meditative solitude.  

Be still and listen to the needs of others without your voice or noise, let your mind work out the complexities of this complicated world and be comforted in knowing that your soul is listening and learning through that reverence.