Because of what is happening inside and outside of me, I’ve become increasingly drawn to what I call inner silence, the quiet that comes from inside, from the heart, not from what is happening outside of me.

This has helped to calm and ground me. I never thought of silence as healing, but it is a powerful healer. I need something like this right now; many people do.

So, I share what I am learning. I’m not preaching. It’s a take-it-or-leave-it thing; I don’t tell other people what to do, say, or think.

I’m a talker, but silence does not mean giving up talking or not being active or busy. It means making time for quiet and working and listening to still the churning inside my head.

It means that I am quieting down inside; no talking is allowed there. But thinking often interrupts. It makes a noise of its own. I can’t always control it.

When I am genuinely silent, I can appreciate and enjoy the silence no matter what happens to me in the outer world. It takes concentration and practice.

Much of the time, my inner silence isn’t completely silent, at least not at first.  There is almost always talking going on inside of my head.

My challenge is finding inner silence while connecting with the outside world or listening to what people call the news.

I have two worlds: the inner world and the outer one. Today, Maria is going to her belly dancing class, and I will be alone in the farmhouse with the dogs for several hours.

I want to wash in silence.

I intend to meditate for much of that time and read when I get restless. Mostly, especially when I get angry,  I want to drink up the silence and let it flow over and through me.

Silence does come from the heart, not the head. I need to remember that.