Silence can be deafening. It is amazing what you hear when you are quiet.
New Years weekend I got a chance to do something I wish I could do more of -- hunt. As I sat in a shooting house in the woods of northern Mississippi watching a small field for deer, all I could do was listen. Cold, I sat still with my arms crossed over my chest, each hand tucked under my armpits. The rifle's muzzle sticking out of the window with the butt resting on my right arm. My head leaning back against the cold wooden wall behind me.
(The shooting house and field.)
Straight ahead my eyes scanned the cold, hard ground. To my left I could hear the trickling of a small creek winding though the forest -- her trickle slowly buidling to a roar the longer I sat quiet. All around me I could hear the intense fluttering of small birds moving from tree to tree. Periodic blast of wind flowed through the shooting house making me colder and colder all the while the smile on my face grew bigger and bigger.
I wanted to be no where else.
I was alone. No TV blaring. No phones ringing. No emails that needed to be replied to. No Facebook. No Twitter. No people talking. No people, period. It was just me and that lone baby doe that just walked across the field from right to left. The rising sun impeding my view of her completely.
I didn't care. I needed this. I needed to be alone. Still. And quite.
Often times I think it's the ones who are constantly working or doing something are the ones that make it. But in reality it's those that understand the importance of disconnecting and getting away that get it. We need rest. We need time alone to think with a clear mind. Jesus did this (Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12).
I have been bothered by this thought for sometime and can't seem to get past it. I have felt for the past few weeks as if I am in a stagnant place. Like I am between two moments. 2010 is going to be a major year in my life. Really, as I sit here and type these words, I would say this year will certainly mark the closing a huge season in my life as I walk passionately in the next. Words can't describe how excited I am about this. It is almost to the point that I am antsy about it and want things to happen quicker then they should, which is probably leading to my feeling of being between two moments.
Ever since I have gotten back from my hunting trip life has been busy and noisy. As the holiday season has come to a close and friends and family are back into their routines, I am finding it's still noisy. Only this is not an audible noise so much as it is a mental noise.
With that, for the next few days I am getting away. Unfortunately, not to a tree stand, but I am getting away nonetheless. I will be turning the cell phone off. Staying far, far away from Facebook and tweets. And shutting up. I plan on spending a lot of time with a notebook, a pen, and an bible. And seeing what happens.
Until next week.
Greg.
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ComfortThankfulness
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