Gee Thanks, President Obama

This day after Christmas was spent trying to “powerdown” from a very keyed-up couple of days. It boggles my mind that some folks step into the day after Christmas with the energy to keep up with headlines , or to go shopping or plunge right back into blogging , or head to the movies (that’s where my husband and son are, right now) but for me — and perhaps it’s because I’m an introvert — the day after Christmas requires the downtime, and the embrasure of a little silence. Over at the Patheos landing page, I invite you to join me in unwrapping a gift of silence : In such a silence, if you have turned off the television and tempted your child away from his games with a good book, you can hear other things: the chatter and call of cardinals who have found the birdseed; the crack of a log in the fire; hot coffee being poured into a cup; the ticking of your last non-digital clock; the rhythmic breathing of tired child (or parent) who has dozed while reading; the soft thud of a book sliding to the floor. You can hear life, forced into a slow-down; life less deliberate; life lived as it was for centuries, before the busy inventiveness of the last five decades: life acquiescent to uncontrollable nature, and hunkered-down. We have allowed silence to become a gift forgotten, one we only consent to unwrap when all of our alternative bows and strings have been unraveled, and our diversions have been utterly played out. Our inability to be silent puts our minds and our souls at a disadvantage, because it robs us of the ability to wonder, and if we are not wondering at the impossible perfection of the world in its creation—if we are not wondering at spinning atoms and Incarnations—then we are lost to humility, and to experiencing gratitude. And, without gratitude, we cannot develop a reasoned capacity for joy. It was originally written for First Things , but you can read it all here . Excuse me, now, while I head back to my couch and my silence and my new Kindle Touch , which is loaded with the Confessions of Saint Augustine and the delightful freebie Right Ho, Jeeves! . You all were exactly right . I totally love this brilliant little e-reader, and don’t know why I resisted for so long!

Read more from the original source:
Have Yourself a Silent Little PostChristmas