To Pause and Be Still: A Reflection

Sometimes we need to slow down, pause for a moment and simply soak it all in. The wonder and beauty of creation is all around us if we simply allow ourselves to be invited into the contemplation of Godde’s creation. Thomas Merton recorded his thoughts on a winter morning in his journal on February 17, 1958.

Lovely blue and mauve shadows on the snow, and the indescribably delicate color of the sunlit patches of snow. All the life of color is in the snow and the sky. The green of the pines is dull and brownish. The dead leaves, still clinging tenaciously to the white oaks, are also dull brown. The cold sky is very blue, and the air is dry and frozen so that, for the first time in years, I see and breathe the winters of New York and not the mild or ambivalent winters of Kentucky. (The Journals of Thomas Merton, Volume 3 1952-1950 — A Search for Solitude: Pursuing the Monk’s True Life)

Lord, help us to pause more often and to simply be still. In that stillness may we see the wonder of your creation and hear your gentle whisper. Amen.