Lightly Child, Lightly.

Posted on by Live & Learn

Your light…
Your silence…
In the silence, without listening,
I heard it,
and without words,
without language or breath,

I answered.

~ C.K. Williams, from “With Ignorance” in Collected Poems.

Notes:

  • Inspired by Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa): “The wise man believes profoundly in silence, the sign of a perfect equilibrium. Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind, and spirit. The man who preserves his selfhood ever calm and unshaken by the storms of existence – not a leaf, as it were, astir on the tree, not a ripple upon the surface of the shining pool – his, in the mind of the unlettered sage, is the ideal attitude and conduct of life. Silence is the cornerstone of character.“
  • Photo by Evgeniy Shaman with “Beyond the Infinite” via shrbrrpxr.
  • Poem: via violentwavesofemotion
  • Prior “Lightly child, lightly” Posts? Connect here.
  • Post Title & Inspiration: Aldous Huxley: “It’s dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them.”

22 thoughts on “Lightly Child, Lightly.”

  2. Is valuing the silence maybe a priviledge of the not totally young ones? I value it greatly now but can’t remember having done so in my young years…. Beautiful words, difficult photo to figure out (if I have….). Cheers
    How do you feel?

  4. Total silence is so rare. I’ve met people who are scared by it and must always have noise. Personally, I love it, although would soon miss birdsong if it wasn’t there. Moments free from chatter are good, though. When I’ve sung plainchant, the silent pauses are as important as the notes and should last for as long as it takes to count three slowly.

  5. It’s very rare to find complete silence in the modern world. Even in the remotest places you might hear sounds. At home, when everything is shut down for the night and the TV and all lights are off, I can still hear the fridge, or freezer, or the PVR humming. And there is always a faraway car or siren or even the wind in the trees. True silence is a rare thing. But more importantly, WHAT is that photo? I can’t make out what is in the picture.

      1. I didn’t recognize the shape in it. Haven’t been to infinity yet either, so didn’t recognize it. 😉
        The scarceness of true silence (at least of manmade sounds) was something that Michener talked about in his book Iberia (I think that was the one – a LONG time ago). If it wasn’t Iberia, it was The Drifters. The character was trying to find a place near the Guadalquivir River that he could record something. Maybe it was birds he wanted to record without the interference of manmade sounds?? Can’t remember exactly. Maybe one of your followers has a better memory.

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