Silence's Sacred Space

blazing artwork

silently layers the sky

nature's gift of gold

©CVarsalona, 2025

For this month's Spiritual Journey Thursday, our creative poet, artist, librarian host, Jone Rush MacCulloch, offers a quote from Thomas Merton, "The world of men has forgotten the joys of silence, the peace of solitude, which is necessary to some extent, for the fullness of human living!". Following that, Jone poses a question, "What are you doing to promote periods of silence each day?" 

The world is saturated with chatter that encourages loud noise regarding political, environmental, financial, family concerns, etc. I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the news and humanity's lack of kindness across the world. Often, I slip and stumble when grief sweeps over me. Internal noises lead to sadness. Yet, I know that "For God alone my soul waits in silence" (Psalm 62.1) Nature brings the essence of love from the Creator. With thanks, I lean into the beauty of the land, the flight of birds, and glorious garden grounds wondering if is this enough for me to remain present in still moments pondering what life will bring on my spiritual journey. Some days seem dark. Restlessness sets in and shuts out stillness. I reach out to nature to nurture my soul so I can find silence's the sacred space where I can contemplate in peace. 

I sit here now listening to the sounds of silence, feeling the rise of breath and the exhale of what does not belong. This sacred space refreshes me and lets me contemplate about reaching the fullness of human living. I realize that I need to embrace silence more and revere it as a sacred space for inner growth.

In the book, "Healing After Loss, daily meditations for working through grief" by Martha W. Hickman, December 4ths' meditation speaks of silence. The ending thought brought clarity. "In the flurry of the next couple of weeks, I will try to spend a few moments each day in prayerful silence-my own particular stay against the emotional and physical tumult of these days." I thank Jama Rattigan  for sending me this book that helps me slowly move beyond loss and friends that have walked this journey before me. 

My Closing Thought on Silent Meditation: 

• I will continue to write and provide time to ponder on how to remain calm in the midst of disquiet. 
• I will quietly await for peace to settle in my soul.

 

The image above is a magical scene I

photographed before we moved to Virginia. 

It has an ethereal quality reminding me.

Thank you Jone, for the creative, amazing Holiday Poem Swap she sent me. Thanks to Tabatha Yeatts for organizing the Holiday Poem Swap.

More will be shared in the future.

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I am also offering this blog post for the Poetry Friday Roundup hosted by a talented poet, author, and cellist, Irene Latham.  You can find Irene's blog at Live Your Poem where she is sharing information on her Open Call submission, a Barbara Crooker poem, and offers her new poem, "ArtSpeak Picasso.

autumn leaves

flitter-flutter in silence

winter's coming

©CVarsalona, 2025

Flutterings of the Heart

Spring is the time when God's magic is at its grandest. ~ Toni Sorenson

A magical Spring day opens with softly wrapped gentle heat and a sun-blinking sky. It is time to "Be", breathe in Spring's sweet-scented perfume, and listen to nature. The mallard duck and his partner walk silently to green places of repose, birds swing by waiting for their turn at the feeder, and bunnies hide until they hop to nibble on bird seeds. Small simple observations lead to artistic visualizations. Poetic goodness flows near the fountain waiting to be awakened during May's plantings. The garden is at rest and so are those relaxing in verdant, manicured lawns. Spring provides a restful environment. 

The above prose and image poem haiku combine to create a haibun.

While designing the Springsations Gallery of Artistic Expressions, soft musings from poetic hearts led me to write the following haikus.

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small observations

nature sits on dewed petals

spring's marvelment

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be still moments

brushed by the Divine artist

earth's creative art

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quiet birdsong

chirping sounds of springtime

nature speaks of bliss

©CVarsalona, 2023

(If you are reading or creating, you may want to listen to Music of Nature here. The sounds and photos are soothing.)

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I am signing off now, wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day!

May Spring's seeds bring you blossoms to add color to your springtime days.

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I am eager to join the Poetry Friday Roundup with today's host, the haiku wiz poet, Robyn Hood Black. My humble poems are inspired by her work.

You will find a sweet haiku about new mothers at the blog post.

Thank you, Linda Baie for creating this small moment photo.

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You can see the new blend of art with poetry at my Springsations Gallery Padlet.

If inclined to add another spring-theme image poem to the gallery, please do so.

Winter Settles In

Each morning of this week, winter's arms reached out like barren branches hoping for a rush of warmth. The sun, playing hide and seek, poked in between sweeping clouds making its way slowly toward evening. As the indigo sky darkened earth, stillness laid its blanket down. Nature rested, knowing that the next day would follow in a similar pattern. 

Yesterday, as I traveled east, from one end of Long Island to my destination, I noticed that each town we passed had the same barren look. Vast arrays of trees, leafless and still, made me feel that nature was ready to embrace the winter chill. After arriving home from a wake, I started thinking about the cyclical pattern of the seasons. Winter walks in with a chill and settles down. T.S. Elliot describes this in his poem, Prelude, which is divided into four parts.

I

The winter evening settles down

With smell of steaks in passageways.

Six o’clock.

The burnt-out ends of smoky days.

And now a gusty shower wraps

The grimy scraps

Of withered leaves about your feet

And newspapers from vacant lots;

The showers beat
On broken blinds and chimney-pots,
And at the corner of the street
A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.
(You can read the rest of the poem here.)

I was struck by Elliot's first line, "The winter evening settles down." Coincidentally, it pairs beautifully with my title, so I decided to try a golden shovel poem to exemplify my thoughts. 

"The winter evening settles down"

As nighttime approaches, the

sun's warmth fades and winter

holds court in the glint of evening.

The house forgets to fire up and settles

into its own pattern of laying down.

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This week, I started joining poet Kat Apel at Instagram for #MoPoetry2019 and some insta-poetry. Today, I decided this would be a great way to share my haikus with her since she is hosting Poetry Friday from Australia where it is summertime. I'm waving to you, Kat, from a cold, wintery day on Long Island, New York. 

While I am designing my Abundant Autumn Gallery for its upcoming unveiling, I am welcoming winter to share its beauty with the world. Please consider sharing your insta-poetry and image poems with me. for showcasing at the gallery.