Wisdom from a Maple Tree

What an amazing gift—to sit and gaze at the beauty and simplicity of a maple tree!

While on vacation, with time and space to be truly available to Spirit, the words of John of the Cross came to me:

Silent music, the murmuring solitude, the supper which revives, and kindles love.

Silent music: the space between two notes. The pause between the in-breath and out-breath of all that lives.

“All is silent and vibrant in its stillness” whispered the maple tree. It knows the rhythm of God’s song of love:

“Be still. Be moved. Bow down. Be lifted up. Wait.”

In the restful contemplation of God’s presence in creation my soul understands this Silent Music. In a world of angst, confusion, greed, abuse and manipulation, it continues its song.

It invites each of us to reclaim our original blessedness and be bathed in the mercy of God’s tender love, for we too are part of God’s creation and need to learn to pause before moving on to the next note of our lives.

This silent music invites us to

• Be still–and know beyond all knowing that we are part of God’s creativity.
• Be moved–from within the depths of our being to experience the enduring love that gives us the courage to work with one another for the good of all.
• Bow down–in response to the challenges of life as we allow the Spirit to embolden us and lift us up to new possibilities, new levels of endurance, or new understanding of our own innate strength.
• Wait–Americans often want everything instantly, but this is not the wisdom of creation. Creation responds to the rhythm of time, and there truly is a time for everything under the sun.

Whether your summer travels took you to the mountains or the ocean, the desert or the plains, or perhaps to a staycation enjoying the wonderful gift of air conditioning, I hope you were able to stop and listen to the silent music of God in all you were part of and that your soul has been revived and refreshed this summer.