In a monastery garden

Monastery grounds

I've often heard the expression that silence prepares you to speak. I disagree.

I can argue this because I am a great proponent of silence. I have often spoken of it on this site, and I can honestly say that it is one of the elements of monastic life that I miss.

Even so, I still say that silence does not prepare you to speak. It prepares you to listen. It offers you a venue for meditation. But it does not make you ready for engagement.

I say this because when I left the monastery, my first response to difficulties was silence. It wasn't because I was being thoughtful. I simply didn't know what to say. It has taken me years to remedy this deficit.

I think this consideration applies to other things as well. What may be good for one thing is not necessarily good for another. And worst of all, over-spiritualizing my spiritual life is the worst sin of all. I am not prepared just because I believe, or because fate has handed me the chance. I need to prepare, regardless of my faith.

I don't know why I am rambling so much today. Perhaps it is the heat. Perhaps it is the absence of Internet during the week so I cannot blog. Or perhaps being back at the monastery has stirred up many thoughts and emotions.

I'll let you know next week.