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Quiet is the Flow
River De Chute... Easton, ME
Contemplation: lit. "with the temple." This temple is the inner temple: God, the heart, spirit, inner life.
Contemplative: one called to a life of spiritual contemplation; the inner life; a monastic or monastic-like life either with others or alone.
Solitude... Quiet: two aspects; outer and inner. For the contemplative, the inner and outer are unified by focusing first on the inward aspect of solitude and quietude. Hence, the intent is to merge the two, so the spirit of solitude and quiet is not lost when among others but influences all one's outward interactions.
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At one time, a provincial judge heard of Abba Moses, one of the early Desert Fathers, and set out into Scete to see him. Abba Moses heard of his coming and fled into the marsh. And the judge, with his following, met him and asked, "Tell me, old man, where is the cell of Abba Moses?" Abba Moses said, "Why would you seek him out? The man is a fool and a heretic."
The judge, arriving at a church, spoke to the clergyperson, "I had heard of Abba Moses and came to see him. But lo! we met an old man journeying into Egypt and asked him where might be the cell of the Abba. He said, 'Why do you seek him? He is a fool and a heretic."'
The clergyman was upset, saying, "What was this old man like, who spoke in this way to you of the holy man?" And the judge said, "He was an old man wearing a very ancient garment, tall and black." And the cleric said, "It is the Abba himself. And because he did not wish to be seen by you, he told you these things about himself." And mightily edified, the judge went away.
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Abba Moses treasured and respected his aloneness enough not to allow just anyone to infringe on it. Some persons feel an inner Call to more of an active life among others. And many, ignoring a Call altogether, hanker after being heard and seen as a way of life. Without being seen and heard, these desperate for attention do not have a sense of who they are - this is prevalent. Some persons, the minority, receive an internal Call to devote self to the inner life, the way of spiritual contemplation, and with some degree of solitude - some more solitude than others. These are not just naturally quiet, shy, or introverted persons; instead, they sense a divine Summons to the inner life and solitude. This latter is called the life of contemplation, or contemplative life. Often, the former is called the active life.
The story of Abba Moses can remind us of two things. First, anyone of the Way of Spirit must guard space and time alone with the Alone. This applies to persons in the active way, too. Continual immersion in outer action, regardless of how good the work, denudes the self of its spiritual attraction and exhausts body-and-mind vitality. That one is called to serve through an active life of good works in the public is not an out from needing solitude and aloneness as a spiritual self-care practice.
As a vowed contemplative, I have sensed the call to the inner life, including much solitude and quiet. If I become too involved in the outer life, it detracts from my sense of connection with Grace, and it limits my energies in serving others. Contemplatives must give diligence in guarding their prime place of prayer, worship, and service: alone with God. This means not needing to be seen and heard by others too much. The contemplative finds her principal source of companionship in solitude, not outside it. Her good works occur first in the quiet within, where she serves the world and loves with her God.
Hence, the contemplative must accept that few follow her way and sympathize with her Calling. Actives may even see her as odd, a loner, lazy, self-absorbed, and uncaring toward the world in her decision for aloneness. Yet, that the way of solitude and quiet is not the most esteemed way, even among those of her religion, and certainly not in the larger culture, does not impact the worth of her Calling.
The contemplative finds her validation not from how others value her and her work; she finds it from her aloneness with the Alone. Being with God is itself validation with God, even as Love confirms Love in reciprocity. And she discovers she is as much with others in the aloneness as outside it among them physically. She knows, too, looking out from the solitude and intimacy with Life, often what appears closeness in public is a facade, not intimacy at all, indeed a hiding from intimacy in the status quo of social interactions.
As this one of solitude and quiet grows into the grace of her Calling, she finds herself more and more one with all and undistracted by what is outside the solitude. When she moves among others, she carries within herself the quiet flow of the Spirit of Quiet, for she has honored her Calling to the quiet in the Quiet.
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*© Brian K. Wilcox, 2021
*Brian's book, An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered through major online booksellers or the publisher AuthorHouse. The book is a collection of poems based on wisdom traditions, predominantly Christian, Buddhist, and Sufi, with extensive notes on the poetry's teachings and imagery.
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