Stillness is the canvas against which movement can become beautiful.
We can only appreciate movement against the background of stillness.
Were everything kinetic, we could not know what movement is.
As sound is sistered to silence, movement is sistered to stillness.
. . .
A river blends music of movement with an
enduring and accompanying depth of stillness.
Again, its journey is always out of silence,
and this silence dwells deep in the river, too.
If only our lives could achieve, or indeed allow, such grace and elegance.
If we could but find a rhythm of being
which could balance a contemplative grace,
a poetry of motion
and an accompanying stillness and silence,
our pilgrimage through this world would flow in beauty through
the most ragged and forsaken heartlands of confusion and dishevelment.
~John O’Donohue in Beauty: The Invisible Embrace
Welcome to Still Saturday where we pause after a busy week, move in quiet pilgrimage, maybe linger a while in some still place, and soak in the beauty of images and words. We’d love for you to join us. Get the details above, grab your favorite button, and link up below. We all love to hear if something especially speaks to your heart, but please don’t feel pressured to comment. Simply take some time to gaze long and drink deep.
Such quiet beauty.
I love that. Sound sistered to silence. Beautiful! And is it possible that the movement of the Spirit in us is sistered to our own obedience to be still?
Beautiful. Yes we are on a pilgrimage and I love what o’Donohue said about how we could flow in beauty through
the most ragged and forsaken heartlands of confusion and dishevelment. Patsy from HeARTworks and papemelroti
This piece of writing brings me back to the summers in the late 70’s when as a child, I used to visit a river we called the “Linga” (Gaelic word – not sure what it means but it may be pool). It was such a quiet place and yet there was a rushing of water which filled the silence… and yet it was so incredibly peaceful at the same time.
That is a beautiful reflection, Wendy. I got the sense as I read your comment that you had a deep resonance with the imagery.
This is a deep breath, peaceful, strengthening, quiet grace.
Love this “If we could but find a rhythm of being
which could balance a contemplative grace,a poetry of motion and an accompanying stillness and silence.”
This is so beautiful, Sandra. I keep popping back over here to read it again. Hope your weekend’s just perfectly delightful! xox
This silenced my soul as I read. All I could do is sit and read it again. I will be ordering this book.
What a beautiful poem…so appropriate for our time.
You find the BEST quotes, Sandy. Love that.
Beautiful!
What an expression of how the Spirit moves us when we surrender. Just beautiful wisdom imparted. Blessings today!
When in the stillness of our life, there we experience the flowing out of the spirit. This poem was very uplifting to me today. I need some time to reflect and have a “canvas of stillness” to see the movement of God’s spirit in my life.
Great photo to accompany this writing.
Always peace here with you
new breath
thank you
love you
As usual… creative gloriosity…
Beautiful post.
What a beautiful quote and photo to match. The more we drink in His refreshing stillness, the more energy we have to continue on the journey, even when turbulent. Thanks for the great post & for hosting the linkup, & God bless,
Laurie