Pause.

 

Ordinarily I go to the woods alone,
with not a single friend,
for they are all smilers and talkers
and therefore unsuitable.
I don’t really want to be witnessed talking to the catbirds
or hugging the old black oak tree.
I have my ways of praying,
as you no doubt have yours.
Besides, when I am alone
I can become invisible.
I can sit on the top of a dune
as motionless as an uprise of weeds,
until the foxes run by unconcerned.
I can hear the almost unhearable sound of the roses singing.
If you have ever gone to the woods with me,
I must love you very much.

Mary Oliver. “How I Go Into the Woods.”

Enter into the Silence,
into the Heart of Truth;
For herein lies the Great Mystery
where life is ever unfolding…

Nan Merrill. From Psalm 32. Psalms for Praying.