quiet

A Gentle, Ancient Heartbeat

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I’ve said it before,

but I’m growing old,

so I get to say it again:

I love to listen to the quiet.

When I listen to the quiet,

I realize it’s not quiet at all.

It’s not empty,

it’s full,

thrumming,

pulsing,

breathing,

the gentle, ancient heartbeat

of life,

of time,

perhaps of the universe itself.

It’s buoyant, this quiet,

full of energy—

a calm forever energy

holding,

enfolding us all.

Shhh.

Pause,

linger,

listen.

Listen

to the quiet.

-kh-

 

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the week:

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Text and photos © 2024 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

The Hawk

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Yesterday, a red-tailed hawk at least eight inches tall perched on the top rail of the fence near our sun room windows. His eight inches did not include his dark tail edged at the tip in white, which extended down over the fence rail for balance. This hawk had a mottled breast of rust and white feathers, a dark head, and bright yellow feet. The bird book I grabbed showed that he was an immature red tail. I was surprised that he stayed so long, at least five minutes, maybe more. So I stayed too, just out of sight, watching him.

All was quiet. The bird feeder was nearby, but my wise little birds were in hiding. A squirrel on top of the swing set was frozen in a crouch, focused on the hawk, who ruffled his dark shoulders and scratched himself. After a long look around, he shot up at a steep angle northward. Shortly after that, the squirrel scampered away, and birds returned to the feeder.

The thing about quiet is that it’s not necessarily peaceful. The quiet that descended with the hawk was actually full of tension. It was only after he flew that real peace returned. Peace was full of birdsong.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2022 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

The Peace of Simply Sitting

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After lunch yesterday, I simply sat in my sunroom. I would say I sat in silence, but I was the silent one; the world around me kept humming, although quietly—a gentle tick of the clock, the soft breath of the air conditioner, muted chirps from birds outdoors, the distant rush of a jet crossing the sky. Sunlight turned the tops of the leaves outside a bright green, while deeper in and underneath, the leaves were a forest of dark shadow. A gentle breeze swayed their stems and led them in a slow dance. I was still and silent for only a moment, but that moment filled me with a sense of expanding serenity, and I returned to the tasks of the day refreshed and hopeful.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2022 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

If We Listen

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“In the stillness of the quiet, if we listen, we can hear the whisper of the heart giving strength to weakness, courage to fear, hope to despair.” – Howard Thurman

 

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2021 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Even the Silence

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“Even the silence has a story to tell you.

Just listen.

Listen.”

– Jacqueline Woodson –

 

The Hoh Rainforest in the Olympic National Park, known as the “quietest place in the Lower 48” states, is where acoustical ecologist Gordon Hempton recorded “one square inch of silence.” You can listen to the silence at this link. Enjoy!

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

 

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

For my posts on life and the wonder of it all, link here.

 

 

Text and photos © 2018 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Shadows Falling

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“Quiet shadows falling

softly come and softly go.”

– Scottish poet Meta Orred –

 

Because of the angle of the sun, spring and autumn are good times to catch a glimpse of interesting shadows – at least in my part of the world. Shadows “softly come and softly go,” reminding us to softly come and softly go.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

 

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

For my posts on life and the wonder of it all, link here.

 

Text and photos © 2018 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

As Deep as Eternity

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Sleet began falling yesterday morning as the temperatures outside dropped into the teens. By afternoon, the sleet had turned to snow, and this morning I woke to a silent world, blanketed in white. It’s now midday, but everyone seems to be staying indoors, and the quiet continues. At the end of a busy, noisy week, this interlude of stillness and peace is welcome.

“Silence is deep as Eternity; speech is shallow as Time.”

– Thomas Carlyle –

 

“Let silence take you to the core of life.”

– Rumi –

 

Nurture peace, cultivate loving kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week – the view from my desk:

Shadow of the Week:

 

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

For my posts on life, faith, and the mystery we call God, link here.

 

Text and photos © 2018 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

 

Can You Hear an Inch of Silence?

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“Quiet is not an absence of sound but an absence of noise.”

– Gordon Hempton –

 Treat yourself to 5 minutes of nature’s soundscape in a peaceful inch of the Hoh Rainforest in the Olympic National Park, identified as the “quietest place in the United States.” From that page you can link  to other sounds recorded by Hempton, a sound recording specialist and acoustical ecologist. Enjoy!

Nourish peace, cultivate loving kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week – acorns and leaves on January ground:

Shadow of the Week:

P.S. If you’ve never been to the Hoh Rainforest, place it on your bucket list. Hiking its mossy trails is like stepping into a fantasy world. It’s a habitat for banana slugs, which secrete a slime that has an anesthetizing effect. A park ranger held one across her palm and asked if anyone wanted to lick it. My older son did – and did. With no ill effects. Except an anesthetized tongue.

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each week, simply sign up on the right.

For my posts on coming of age in a community of faith, link here.

 

Ancient Light

 

Text and photos © 2017 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.