The Silent Space
"Through forgiveness, which essentially means recognizing the insubstantiality of the past and allowing the present moment to be as is, the miracle of transformation happens not only within but also without. A silent space of intense presence arises both in you and around you."~ Eckhart Tolle
Six years ago I went on a trip to Europe with a church group. We mainly spent time in Germany, Austria, and France. After our arrival in Austria, we traveled from place to place in a bus. This meant spending many hours riding along with the group often learning about the sites we were seeing as a tour guide shared their stories and wisdom of the countryside. Even though I listened intently with genuine interest to the narration by the various guides, my most vivid memories are of the things that I experienced first hand, those moments when I had an emotional response of wonder at what I was seeing. One such moment came as we rode along in France for several hours. At the time, our guide was silent and so were the passengers. We were all lost in our own thoughts and taking in the countryside as it rushed past the window. As we were passing a long stretch of farmland, we suddenly came upon mile after mile of sunflowers. They were all planted in perfect rows and in full bloom. These enormous sunflowers were all pointed at exactly the same angle as they reached their faces toward the sun. All of these perfectly beautiful flowers seemed to be looking, almost straining, to take in the rays of the sun. It was truly an awesome sight! Their actions were "thoughtless", it was pure consciousness that moved them in exactly the right direction at precisely the right time to receive the power of the Source of Life. They didn't worry about whether or not they were "getting it right"... they were just being.
I want to be like those sunflowers. Living fully in the present moment without regret of what happened in the past or what might have been; without fear of the future and what losses may come. I want to know the miracle of transformation that opens my heart like a beautiful sunflower that catches the rays of the Source and then shines its beauty back toward the Creator.
Today, I remember my silent space that is the fertile ground that arises both in me and around me~ that sacred place where I am surrounded by the warm presence of the Creator of All Life.
Six years ago I went on a trip to Europe with a church group. We mainly spent time in Germany, Austria, and France. After our arrival in Austria, we traveled from place to place in a bus. This meant spending many hours riding along with the group often learning about the sites we were seeing as a tour guide shared their stories and wisdom of the countryside. Even though I listened intently with genuine interest to the narration by the various guides, my most vivid memories are of the things that I experienced first hand, those moments when I had an emotional response of wonder at what I was seeing. One such moment came as we rode along in France for several hours. At the time, our guide was silent and so were the passengers. We were all lost in our own thoughts and taking in the countryside as it rushed past the window. As we were passing a long stretch of farmland, we suddenly came upon mile after mile of sunflowers. They were all planted in perfect rows and in full bloom. These enormous sunflowers were all pointed at exactly the same angle as they reached their faces toward the sun. All of these perfectly beautiful flowers seemed to be looking, almost straining, to take in the rays of the sun. It was truly an awesome sight! Their actions were "thoughtless", it was pure consciousness that moved them in exactly the right direction at precisely the right time to receive the power of the Source of Life. They didn't worry about whether or not they were "getting it right"... they were just being.
I want to be like those sunflowers. Living fully in the present moment without regret of what happened in the past or what might have been; without fear of the future and what losses may come. I want to know the miracle of transformation that opens my heart like a beautiful sunflower that catches the rays of the Source and then shines its beauty back toward the Creator.
Today, I remember my silent space that is the fertile ground that arises both in me and around me~ that sacred place where I am surrounded by the warm presence of the Creator of All Life.
posted by Becky Spellman Waltz at 12:14 PM
2 Comments:
Dear Becky, Thank you for sharing your thoughts about your trip. :) Angela A.
Angela,
You are always a voice of encouragement. That is truly a gift!
Thank you,
Becky
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