Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Strategic Monk

Home
Contemplative
Listening to Sacred Stillness: Remembering Autumn Stillness

Listening to Sacred Stillness: Remembering Autumn Stillness

Last updated on: November 14, 2017 at 4:32 pm by Greg Richardson

Listening to Sacred Stillness: Remembering Autumn Stillness 2017-11-14T16:32:29-08:00 Greg Richardson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

5159118513_4beb5994ab_z

Remembering Autumn Stillness

The autumns in my memory are filled with sacred stillness.

Now I live in a place where autumn is a concept. The temperature does not necessarily get colder though the hours of daylight grow shorter. Most of the trees remain green.

The transition from summer to autumn to winter now is measured in tiny increments.

Our seasons have more to do with featured flavors than with changes in the weather. We move from pomegranate to pumpkin spice to peppermint.

The autumn stillness I remember caused time to slow down and stand still. Each walk in the woods was its own era.

Autumn was a time of raking and burning leaves. Harvesting the results of summer’s hard work gave us food saved for the winter. Shocks of corn stalks, bales of hay, and pumpkins were more than decorations.

Autumn would give us the first days accurately described as cold, possibly the first snow.

Where I live now the weather does not really get that cold.

The chill and the darkness of autumn would draw us into its rhythm. We took our time making sure we were ready for another winter. Autumn was something we wanted to do right.

Each walk in the woods could be the last one until spring. The leaves exploded into colors. In the middle of a walk we might stand transfixed. The bright sun in the blue sky and the red, yellow, and brown leaves. It was one last celebration of color before the world turned black and white and grey.

Now, without that remembered autumn stillness, we speed from one thing to another. We need to make our own opportunities to stop and listen to the sacred stillness.

Making Time for Autumn Stillness

Our autumn stillness is more than a childhood memory. Even without the natural reminders of the autumns I remember, we listen to stillness.

First we remember. We sit, closing our eyes and listening back for the stillness which draws us into itself.

There are moments we remember when sacred stillness was all around us. We realized the stillness also filled us, pouring out into the rest of the world.

The sacred stillness within us listened to the sacred stillness which surrounded us. And the sacred stillness around us listened to the sacred stillness in our hearts.

It was one stillness.

No matter when it was or where we were, we listened to the stillness and it drew us in. As we remember, it happens again.

When we listen to sacred stillness we realize it has no limits. The same stillness fills us as fills the rest of the world. The sacred stillness was the same in the past as it is in the present, and will be the same in the future.

We forget autumn stillness when distracted by the noises around us and within us.

Each season has its own unique flavor of stillness. Summer stillness is an experience of lying in the sun, feeling its warmth. Autumn stillness feels more a calm before a storm. Winter and spring have their own flavors of stillness.

We get a small taste of autumn stillness and it lingers on the tongue of our minds. It is almost as if we need to distract ourselves to leave the distractions behind. We breathe in autumn’s aroma and remember the stillness we have listened to in the past.

Autumn stillness draws us from the busyness and distractions with which we fill our time.

Savoring Autumn Stillness

Remembering autumn stillness can be like recalling the flavor of our favorite dessert. We take time to remember and experience the flavors and texture again. It is not a matter of eating the same meal over and over. Our appreciation deepens and grows as we take time to savor what we have already eaten.

We may be allowing tastes to roll on our tongue again or listening to sacred stillness. We savor what we have experienced, reflecting and drawing new appreciation from it.

Whether it is sights or sounds or aromas which remind us, we remember autumn stillness. It may be geese flying overhead, smoke from an open fire, or leaves falling from trees. Autumn stillness comes back to us, filling our minds with sacred stillness.

We can choose to take time to savor what autumn has for us. Sitting or standing still, we give our permission for autumn to teach us its lessons. Listening to sacred stillness slows us down long enough to remember and learn.

Remembering how delicious autumn stillness can be opens us to taste more each day.

It may be a taste of coffee or the smell of smoke from a pipe. Our memory make be sparked by a particular song or a specific place. We remember and pause to listen to sacred autumn stillness.

What reminds us and what we hear when we listen are uniquely personal to each of us. No one else can describe the stillness we hear when we listen.

Listening to Sacred Autumn Stillness

It may feel like we are doing nothing, wasting our time. Why would we pause in our busy schedules, on purpose, to listen to sacred stillness? What difference does autumn stillness make in our lives, in our world?

Listening to sacred stillness changes us from the inside out. When we recognize the benefits, the importance of taking time we begin to change. Our inner lives become more open and our public lives become more honest.

Listening to sacred stillness will probably not solve all our problems immediately. Slowing down and remembering gives us opportunities to fit the pieces together in new ways.

As we begin to change we also show more of who we are to the people around us. We know ourselves better and can be more honest with ourselves.

Sacred stillness shows ourselves to ourselves. We take time to reflect on what we hear.

Autumn stillness whispers sacred truths in our ears.

When will you listen to sacred autumn stillness today?

What lessons does autumn stillness have for you this week?

[Image by Vironevaeh]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and leadership coach in Southern California. He is a recovering attorney and university professor, and a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com, and his email address is [email protected].

Blog

Sacred Stillness

Previous Post

November 10, 2017

Practices From the Inside Out: What is So Great About Being Grateful?

Next Post

November 16, 2017 Leading Like a Monk: Monastic Life in the Everyday World

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Book Reviews Everything Else Guest Posts Leadership Monastic Strategies Neighborhood Pilgrimages Sacred Stillness Spiritual Direction Spiritual Practices Work

Select a Month May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

At my dedication prayer, fire came down from heaven and God's glory filled the house.

Select your answer to see how you score.

The prophet's home The tabernacle The Palace The temple