Here in the low-lit hours of the night I sit quietly – to ponder, and to wonder, and to try to be quieter still. I expect that many millions of us know what it is to want to say something, to plead for something, whilst fearing our ignorance more than we fear our silence. How many years would it take for me to begin to understand the sources from which this world’s conflicts arise? How many years to be able to comprehend anything of justice in half-baked notions of ‘difference,’ ‘vanquished,’ or ‘victors?’
But just a matter of hours ago I was spellbound by the deep gaze of a peaceful infant in the arms of her mother – and in whose beautiful eyes the Wisdom and compassion of the Ages appeared to be contained. I am still gazing back at her – though the moment of face to face encounter passed and now I am alone, reflecting – low-lit and yet illuminated. Of course we see something Divine in a child, and ought to in any child, anywhere. We almost invariably see the unalloyed peace in the ‘windows of their soul’ long before we hear words from their cherubic mouths. And their eyes – often shining, sometimes tear-filled, at others smiling – speak wordlessly to us, inviting us to stay and to keep vigil for a while. To breathe and keep vigil in a hoping, pondering, wondering, ‘silent night.’
wind in my wheels 🌱 