SILENCE

Anthony de Mello tells a story about a man who is lost and wandering in a desert. After many hours of frantically searching for water, the man all but gives up. Out of sheer exhaustion he stops and lies down on the ground and becomes absolutely quiet. All ofa sudden, he becomes aware of the deep, awesome silence of the desert and in that profound stillness, he hears the gentle, murmuring sound of running water nearby. The man gets up and goes in the direction from which he has heard the water until he comes to a stream from which he drinks, and his life is saved. Sometimes, we too are frantically, almost desperately, searching for something to fulfill us or save us—until finally we become very still and quiet inside, and, in that stillness, we find our answer.