Solitude

On a blessedly quiet morning
after an overstimulating yesterday,
I am thinking about
my yearning for solitude.

Not just an hour
here or there
to “recharge the battery”
so I can get up
and do it all again.

No, I need vast expanses of it.

In its silences,
I uncover an inner world
that has been waiting
right here for me,
where all that requires stillness
can trust the calm
and begin to emerge,
to unfurl,
to expand.

In its silences,
I can hear my own voice,
seek my own council.

In its silences,
I find renewed connection
with those who are dear to me.
Here, I can feel
their tenderest hearts.
Love surrounds them.

In its silences,
defensiveness and fear
are temporarily suspended.
I recognize a kinship
that transcends
external differences.

In its silences,
I listen
for the breath of God.

In its silences,
I can see my world,
in all its beauty
and heartache,
as if from above.
I find a way to live
without drowning in it.

By Maria Brady-Smith
Photo by Mike Smith