Sunday, October 26, 2008

blogging and silence

It's been more than a week since I blogged, and I realize that my stated goal of blogging five days a week isn't always going to happen. I could give a lot of reasons why I haven't blogged lately and they'd all be true -- a stomach virus that knocked me out for two days last week, unexpected trips to Cleveland and Fallingwater, traveling to look at colleges with Sophie, my "depression" over the looming Depression ... oops, I meant "long, deep recession..." but these reasons don't entirely capture why I haven't been blogging. They're simply, as people like to say, diversions.

Really, I haven't blogged in a week because I've needed to be silent. Perhaps it's the Quaker in me. Do others have this experience of needing to be still? Of needing to listen? Of needing to process?

That being said, I do plan to pick up the blogging this week!

3 comments:

Tom (Mystics Meeting) said...

Hi Diane,
you asked: "Perhaps it's the Quaker in me. Do others have this experience of needing to be still? Of needing to listen?"

why yes! I do!

and here is the really funny thing Ive noticed about this "silence" (blogging and forums and real life as well)... we only ever hear from the "not silent"

the very fact that you are getting a response from me now, means you are catching me in my "not silent" mode- and so THIS is the truth of me now... but when Im in the "silence", there is a truth that you or even I will never hear! that truth can never be spoken, only spoken about, and even then, only from the "noise"...

in this way, silence is only ever for oneself, and from oneself

in this way, one meets EVERYthing completely and totally...

this is not just a bit of philosophical mind-fun here... this is seen here, as the aliveness of truth itself

this then moves the question a bit- what is it to truly "speak out of the silence"?

Im not discounting the Sacredness of that- not at all- Im saying there is an implication of that, and of the seeing that it is only for oneself (can only ever be) that is actually HUGE... and this I can imagine, is what George Fox was seeing too... and others before and since him, of course... there is seeing this intellectually and talking about it- and then there is that something much deeper, and alone... that Meeting with all-that-is

I think that is what silence is... where listening itself, is the purest act of worship...

AbiSomeone said...

Hehehe, Diane ... I call it "blogatonia" (as in catatonia) and it's when I go into mostly lurking mode on other blogs and have nothing to post on my own...but find myself staring at Google Reader for hours until my eyes give out. Not. Good. Part of it is related to the elections ... but I'm not going to say anything about that ... I'm worn out from Jesus Creed and The Forgotten Ways blogs deep topics this week....

All three of my boys did the stomach flu thing this past week, and Robert is struggling through it now. I am hopeful that I just bypass it completely. What do you think the chances are of that?

I need to finish The Blue Parakeet and get my blog review series going again!

Diane said...

Tom,

Good to meet you. Thanks for that comment.

Peggy,

Hi dear heart. In our family, two of four living at home got the stomach virus. Two missed it, so you may too!

There's a lot going on in the world these days. I will look for your BP blog ...