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Quietude \u2013 a state of stillness; calmness, and quiet in a person or place<\/p>\n
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Really, quietude is not about noise or sound or silence. It’s not a drugged state either.<\/p>\n
Some stories come to mind\u2026<\/p>\n
Noise<\/h3>\n
When I was a high school student and had difficulty falling asleep, I\u2019d turn my clock radio on as I went to bed and listen to a baseball game.\u00a0 Within minutes I would fall asleep.\u00a0 The sound was a comfort.\u00a0 Fast forwards several decades, we are living with noise as comfort all the time. Music is played in stores and elevators, and gas stations, and waiting rooms, and dentist offices.\u00a0 Most people walk down the street wearing ear buds.\u00a0 It seems that, collectively, we feel the need to be surrounded by noise of some sort.\u00a0 There is even a TV commercial, I have no idea what product is being advertised, but a couple goes on a camping trip and can\u2019t fall asleep because of the forest sounds.\u00a0 They play street sounds on their phone and instantly go to sleep.\u00a0 We have become used to being surrounded with noise.<\/p>\n
Silence<\/h3>\n
Many years ago, I attended a silent Zen retreat.\u00a0 After the retreat, on the car trip home, I remember commenting that I thought the retreat was very noisy, lots of talking\u2026that people weren\u2019t keeping the form of silence.\u00a0 My car-mates totally disagreed.\u00a0 They felt it was a particularly silent retreat.\u00a0 This puzzled me.\u00a0 I slowly began to realize that the noise I was hearing wasn\u2019t from other people.\u00a0 What I thought was talking was actually my mind.\u00a0 My mind was where the noise was coming from\u2026thoughts, memories, judgments, plans.\u00a0 After the fact, I could see that the actual physical silence wasn\u2019t a comfort for me. The noise that was making me so discomforted was in my mind!<\/p>\n
Quietude<\/h3>\n
Late last August I was in an accident walking my dog and broke the neck of my femur.\u00a0 It took a trip to an Immediate Care center and an ambulance to get me to one of the best orthopedic hospitals in the area.\u00a0 It was about 7:00 p.m. when I was finally transferred to a hospital bed.\u00a0 Every slight move of my leg brought excruciating pain.\u00a0 Laying perfectly still brought relief.\u00a0 Being perfectly still brought thoughts of deep breathing, remembering that I wasn\u2019t my body, wishes for a miracle that the pain would go away and my leg immediately healed.\u00a0 The pain was like a grey cloud hovering around me.<\/p>\n
Early next morning Liz and I met with the surgeon.\u00a0 He recommended putting three pins in the bone rather than a hip replacement.\u00a0 We agreed and I was scheduled for surgery at noon.\u00a0 Liz was able to come with me to the surgery prep area. I was hooked to the monitoring machines but had not yet been given any anesthetic. This is where I experienced quietude.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know it at the time, but as I waited I just wanted to be still.\u00a0 I told Liz not to ask me any questions.\u00a0 I just lay still.\u00a0 Liz watched the machine monitoring my vital signs\u2026everything went down\u2026breathing, blood pressure, and heart-rate.\u00a0 In remembering back, I knew I was in some spiritual place.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t afraid.\u00a0 I could hear the sounds in the room and hallway. \u00a0I was aware and not aware.\u00a0 I was not trying to meditate or do deep breathing.\u00a0 I just went into a deep quietude\u2026a place of no desire, a place of contentment.<\/p>\n
It was not a place I willed myself into.\u00a0 It just was quietude. Quietude is ever present. I went there.<\/p>\n
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Author: Lao di Zhi Shakya<\/p>\n
Old Earth<\/p>\n
Zen Contemplative Priest of the Order of Hsu Yun<\/p>\n
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