Years ago there was an old radio program that began, “It’s been a quiet week in Lake Woebegone…”
That could certainly be said of the last year. Have you noticed how quiet it has been?
On one hand, that has meant the absence of social interaction and community. It’s been lonely and in many ways a time of unrecognized grief. Loneliness has been described as a pandemic in and of itself.
On the other, it has allowed more time to be still. How remarkable it has been to sit and thoughtfully consider what matters most.
For me one of the most valuable aspects of Spiritual Direction is the privilege to sit and listen—to be fully present in order to honor someone. Sometimes we talk and sometimes we sit together in contemplative silence. And that’s why I call my practice Still Listening.