Those quiet moments

August 30, 2014
Day 122

Even though I'm up here in the mountains, staying on a beautiful lake and basking in all that vacation brings, this isn't a retreat.  I'm here with family, and we're all trying to have a fun vacation.  Even though there are many quiet moments, they're not constant, so I try to grab them whenever I can.

Last night, I went out onto the deck around 8 PM, and laid down on one of the chaise lounge chairs.  The night sky had not yet fully revealed itself in all its glory, but a few of the brightest stars were already very clear.

I know so much of what I write is something you've heard before somewhere else, but I hope this reminder helps: sometimes only in the darkness can some light reveal itself.  We find our way well enough when the sun is shining and everything is hunky-dory, but when the day is at its darkest, new kinds of light are shone on everything.

In the darkness of 8 PM last night, I could still make out the lake and mountain rise in front of me.  I could see the occasional bat scavenging over the lake.  And I could still see all my surroundings, just differently.  In the darkness of evening, your eyes don't search for birds in the trees or fish in the water, and in the full darkness of nighttime, your eyes only look up, searching for new light, and new revelations.  The darker it gets, the more stars you begin to see.

Just as I escape the city lights to my resting place in the Green Mountains of Vermont, we all find clearer thinking and clearer sight sometimes when we're surrounded by the darkness.  Those quiet moments alone, away from the sounds of others, whether literal or metaphoric, are waiting for us everywhere.  To shut your brain down and begin to really see clearly, you need to shut off all the external distractions around you as best you can.

Your mind might still want to flip through a War And Peace-length novel of distracting thoughts, but if you turn out the lights and sit apart for a while, you might just convince that annoying brain of yours to listen to the silence, and appreciate the darkness.  As the darkness grows, the stars shine brighter, and they have something special they want to whisper to you, and you alone.  Give them a chance to tell you their story.