Thanksgiving

 As I look over this season, I have come to realize that Thanksgiving, four weeks ago, was a turning point for me here at the monastery.  Before that, I would try and “schedule” silence and solitude, not just around me, but within me.  I would try to quiet my thoughts, my restless and critical mind.  But Thanksgiving Day was different this year than any other.  Yes, there was the gathering for turkey dinner, conversation, cleaning up together and all, but before and after that, there was a silence I never experienced any previous Thanksgiving.  No football on TV, or newspapers, or lots of conversation.  And the silence, at first strange, then became something I fell into.  It seemed natural, an ongoing part of me, unscheduled.  After we all cleaned up in mid-afternoon, I never spoke another word until I went to bed.  I did not feel the need to “go to prayer time.”  I was “in” rather than with the Presence.  And I am calmer for it.  I would not call this an “arrival” as that would indicate the journey is over.