Back from a much-needed silent retreat that I didn't realize how much I much-needed. Although I'm the sole (human) inhabitant of my hermitage, the noise of daily life is...noisy. For much of this I have only myself to blame.I'm so under the thrall of social media that I've taken to setting timers to limit my futzing around on Linked In, Twitter, and Facebook. These media can become very noisy -- and that's with muting the pinging and tweeting of incoming messages.
I've noticed how Twitter especially seems to trigger and sustain internal conversation. Still, it's better than wandering the streets muttering to imaginary friends. At least I'm muttering silently in front of a computer with people who exist. And I've come to treasure their presence in my life.
My tweet about going on a silent retreat generated a slew of replies similar to this delightful tweet, "Prayers ascending joining with yours." Rather than dive right back into conversation, I uploaded a picture from a chapel at Daylesford Abbey to signal my return and received a slew of welcome back messages.
So how was two days and one night of social silence? Spiritually productive and relaxing -- especially after rearranging the furniture in my room. More about that and other tips for going on retreat in my next post.
Picture: Looking up at Daylesford Abbey
