Listening for God

“I tried to discover, in the rumor of forests and waves, words that other men could not hear, and I pricked up my ears to listen to the revelation of their harmony.”
~ Gustave Flaubert

Fifteen years ago I went on a European tour with a group from church.  The tour began in Austria with it's stunning vistas and warm friendly residents.  On one of the first days, we took a ski lift down a steep mountain.  The site of the rich green landscape dotted with edelweiss was breath-taking!  And then, in the distance, we heard the sound of bells, all of different pitches and tones.  The sounds were random and yet rhythmic, beautiful and mysterious, hauntingly musical.  As the sound grew louder and we neared the bottom of the mountain, we began to see the source of the concert.  It was cows, many many cows, all with a different size bell around it's neck.  It was obvious that the different sizes of the bells helped to distinguish which cow had wandered off- they each had their own particular sound.  The simplicity of cows casually grazing at the foot of a mountain making music that resonated toward the heavens, found its way to my ears and finally took up residence within my heart.

"I don't want to think a place for you.
Speak to me from everywhere.
Your Gospel can be comprehended
without looking for its source."
~Rilke's Book of Hours; Love Poems to God