Sitting in stillness, the silence
is at first shocking, deafening
in a way unimagined but there.
Within the lack of sound lies
a thousand sounds you had
never heard in the din of life.
You hear the young monk at Senso-ji
approach the great bell and pull
back on the log shu-moku, straining.
You hear the laugh of school aged
children hand in hand walking through
the temple grounds as pigeons gather.
You hear the cat, sitting at the foot
of Daibutsudan, staring out
and the deer waiting at the gate.
You hear your breath and that
of a million others as they sit
on their cushions sharing a moment.
an old writer and his words 
Lou, Wonderful – thank you. I have just begun reading the latest Julia Cameron book, “The Listening Path: the creative art of attention.” You or Elaine may be familiar with her book, “The Artist’s Way: a spiritual path to higher creativity.” Lots of quotes within her books. I shared this one by Alfred Brendel with Joseph: “The word ‘listen’ contains the same letters as the word ’silent.’ “
Take care, both of you! Peace, Christina
Christina Laurel 864-360-8652 c.laurel@att.net http://www.claurelartist.com Instagram: christina.laurel
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Its surprising how much we can see when we create a sliver of silence in our lives isn’t it? I think this way too and liked reading your thoughts.
Very beautiful writing.