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: Dark Evenings by the Fireplace

Listening to Sacred Stillness: Dark Evenings by the Fireplace

Last updated on: December 10, 2019 at 4:38 am by Greg Richardson

Listening to Sacred Stillness: Dark Evenings by the Fireplace 2019-12-10T04:38:34-08:00 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.

Dark Evenings by the Fireplace

One of the ways I most enjoy listening to sacred stillness, especially this time of year, is by watching a fireplace.

Daylight is getting shorter where I live. Darkness closes in earlier and earlier for the next couple weeks. The nights are cooler than it is all day.

It is tempting to spend our time rushing toward the holidays. We feel there are so many things we need to do, so much to check and double check. Some of us feel we are running toward the end of the year, toward the holiday, toward family and friends. We would like our expectations exceeded and everything to be exactly the way we want it.

The challenge for us is finding the time to sit on a dark evening by the fireplace. Our thoughts are bouncing round in our heads and our hearts are full of emotions. How can we listen?

We resist visiting places where we might find meaning. It seems like too much time and effort to sit breathing and listening.

The fire gradually draws us into its light and warmth.

Spending dark evenings by the fireplace is one of the first contemplative practices I followed. Long before I learned about contemplative prayer or reading or monastic life, I would sit watching a fire in the fireplace.

Fire reminds me of spiritual life. I believe fire is a good metaphor for spiritual life and reflecting on fire helps me see spiritual life in new ways.

Listening to sacred stillness on a dark evening by the fireplace gives us warmth and light physically and spiritually.

We listen and our anxieties and fears go up the chimney in the smoke.

How does a fire in the fireplace show us spiritual life?

Spiritual Life in the Fireplace

Spiritual life is a fire burning within us and in the world around us. It is energy which brightens our darkness and heats our cold loneliness. There are times when spiritual life is sparked in new ways, and times when it may be reduced to embers.

The fire of spiritual life can be a torch to light our path or leave us tasting smoke and ashes.

Spiritual life can be a fire burning in a fireplace as we sit pondering the lessons it has for us. It may be a bonfire on a hill which can be seen for miles around. Spiritual life is in the flames of candles we light to draw us into their warm glow.

Like fire, spiritual life is beyond our control. I live in a place where the possibility of fires is real, especially during dry seasons. People can take steps to reduce them, but we cannot prevent all fires from happening.

I know people who seem to want to reduce the possibility of spiritual life igniting in them. They cannot extinguish spiritual life, but they clear away anything which might encourage it. Many of them are afraid, particularly during a drought, of what spiritual life might do.

Spiritual life has a mind of its own. It can purify like fire. It can roast or consume, warm, or give us light. The spiritual life within one person can spark spiritual life in another. Spiritual life in the world around us spreads into us, reflected in what we see and hear.

We may believe we have put out spiritual life, preventing it from burning within us. Beyond our control, spiritual life can spring back to life despite our desire to extinguish it.

Some of us believe we have spiritual life safely contained in a fireplace.

Sitting by the Fireplace and Listening

It is not difficult for me to spend an entire evening by a fireplace.

I might start out reading something in a book or on my phone. There may be something in particular I would like to consider. It could be an excellent place for a quiet, intimate conversation.

As the evening continues I will stop and feed or poke at the fire.

Eventually watching the fire in the fireplace becomes the focus on my attention. It is not the same as watching a movie or a news report. The fire draws us in and we watch the flames ebb and flow.

We sit, listening to sacred stillness and watching the fire in the fireplace. The fire, for all its power and heat, calms us and helps us become still.

As we watch the fire sacred stillness wraps us in its arms. We breathe deeply and evenly and some of us close our eyes. Watching the fire seems to help us release our tight grip on our concerns and fears. We sit still, giving our consent to the presence and life of sacred stillness and spiritual life within us.

Spending an Evening by the Fireplace

It does not need to be a dark evening by the fireplace for us to sit listening to sacred stillness. Some of us prefer to spend time listening in the morning or the afternoon. I find the darkness of December evenings helps me relax my grip and allow sacred stillness to embrace me.

For me, these evenings seem intentionally designed to be spent listening to stillness by a fireplace.

Watching a fire gives me something to see without engaging my focus. Paying unfocused attention allows me to listen to stillness. A fire in a fireplace helps me stay in the present moment.

The warmth and the light from a fireplace draw me in without engaging my thoughts or feelings. I am free to allow distractions to slip past before they can hold my attention. The fire seems to purify my heart and mind.

Spending dark evenings listening to sacred stillness by a fireplace is one of my favorite contemplative practices.

When can we spend a dark evening by the fireplace listening to sacred stillness this week?

What fears or anxieties can we see rising with the smoke from a fire in the fireplace?

[Image by rexhammock]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and coach in Southern California. He has served as an assistant district attorney, an associate university professor, and is 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

December 7, 2019

Practices From the Inside Out: Celebrating What Inspires Us

Next Post

December 12, 2019 Monastic Strategies: Why Would Anyone Explore Contemplative Spirituality?

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

What material was used to make Moses' basket waterproof?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Linen and clay Tar and pitch Camel hide Palm leaves