Notes from the Still Point - Part II

The following post was written while on silent retreat and has been transcribed from pen & paper (call me ol' fashioned) after the fact...

THURSDAY
Today didn't turn out anything like I'd planned. I guess that's the point of these retreats: to let go of my plans and make myself available to whatever God has in store for me...

I went for a long walk down a nearby country road. Almost an hour and a half of walking and I didn't encounter a single car. And I'd like to set the record straight: there is no such thing as silence in nature. There is so much life happening at any given moment! Being able to quiet my own mind - even for short periods - allowed me to become fully attentive, fully present to my surroundings. Birds... butterflies... flowers... foliage... My favourite flowers were the Wild Columbine. God's palette for wildflowers in this region leans towards a white-purple-yellow combination. With their blood-red flowers, the Columbine would continuously shock me back to the now, should I ever be tempted to stray into thoughts of yesterday or plans for tomorrow.

And speaking of tomorrow!... I'm hoping to have a "no-reading day". Time & space to allow for original thought, creativity, prayer and meditation. God willing, of course!

Quote-of-the-day: "God wills life to be a journey through four seasons, every climate, all the topographies of the soul so that when we have finished it, we can say that we have truly lived it. Well. Whole. With integrity." - Joan D. Chittister