In Silence Lies Beauty: Gesture and Lace in a Snowy Forest

Gesture and Lace - Image c 2011 Lynda Lehmann

Hermann Melville said, "God’s one and only voice is silence."  Somehow I agree.  It's only in moments of silence that we can even begin to grasp the magnitude of the beauty all around us and the profound miracle of every day.


A snow-shrouded forest is a great place to experience the joy and fullness of silence.  Why is silence full?  Because silence allows us the space to let go of conscious thoughts, goals, and all the usual preoccupations that we carry around with us from day to day.  Silence gives us a moment of pause in which we may become aware of our own Being.  In silence, we own ourselves; we own the moment.  Silence lets us "be," if Being is what we want.
Silence asks nothing of us but to befriend her.  Silence will not ask us to defend ourselves.  Silence is forgiving.  She is a balm to our souls.  
Silence is not Golden, but she is buoyant, transparent and transforming.  Listen to Silence if you want to find your Heart.
I was astounded with the beauty of the forest on this bone-chilling day when I walked with my husband at a nearby state park. The landscape was frozen and rigid in the vice-grip of winter.  Yet the trees maintained their winding and undulating forms, held on to their grace under the assault of bitter cold and high winds.  Because the temperature has been so low this week, little melting has taken place, even on the blacktop that usually warms in the midday sun.  

Snow Berries - Image c 2011 Lynda Lehmann

There was so much to see in this transformed land of delicate lace-work and graceful forms: the rolling hills, the frosted berries and dancing trees.  The contrast of bright white snow clinging to twigs, trunks and branches against a background of afternoon shadows, really brought out the beauty of the arbor.  When we left I was again replete again with nature's beauty, though my toes were nearly frozen.
I love silence.  But I know some folks find silence tedious or even frightening.  Do you look forward to moments of silence or do you find yourself avoiding it?

Together in Beauty - Image c 2011 Lynda Lehmann

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