The Sound of Silence

I LOVE snow. I LOVE snowshoeing. I LOVE the sound of the silence I hear as it falls. It's a silence like no other. For me it is a whisper from God, 'All is well. All is right with the world'. No matter what is happening in my life, no matter where I am, when the snow falls, even on the busy streets of New York City, I hear the thunderous silence. It's different. It's beautiful. It's mesmerizing.It's meditative.If you just listen, you too, will hear the silence.

This year, the snow arrived very early. I thought it too early, afterall Halloween is still two days away. I spent the day going outside every few hours to sweep the trees of snow so the limbs would not break. Pushing the broom against the heavy branches, I shook each limb and received my own personal snowfall. Heavy and wet. I Loved it. I smiled at how this snow makes me feel: childlike, renewed, refreshed, grounded and at peace. There's a real sense of serenity in being out in the snow.
Snow changes the entire landscape. It cleanses the very air we breathe and shifts the forces of energy that surround us. My inner landscape changes too. It allows me to see who walks on the land I so selfishly refer to as mine. The tracks left by all the creatures who walk across this land: rabbit, deer, chipmunk, squirrel, fox and bear remind me that this is most certainly not MY land at all. They were here first and graciously allow me to share their space. The snow reminds me of that. I see all the tracks, I know who they are, where they live and I bring them food so they won't go hungry - they, too, did not expect this early snowfall. No, none of us were prepared for this unusually early snow event.

There is a stepping stone in my garden engraved with the word: LISTEN. Though it is covered by snow now, I see it in my minds eye - and I do, I listen., closely, but there is no effort in this listening. It is quite simply there for anyone to hear.
Just listen. Allow yourself those moments, they are all too few and far between. They are spectacular and ought not to be missed. Listen. Don't miss the opportunity to hear the beauty of the snow fall, the whisper of a greater power, the perfection of the sound of silence.