The alchemy of companionable silence

Silence is a welcome member of Circle. I say that each time, and sometimes she appears while at other times she is a bit more reticent. But when she does appear, Silence brings something unusual to the space, something we are not accustomed to in today's society. Describing this is like trying to describe what you see behind your eyelids when you close your eyes; it isn’t blank but there isn’t something you could draw. There is something but it has no words.

Sitting in Circle when Silence appears can be uncomfortable. But when we sink into her warm embrace, as we can in Circle, then we are together in a much deeper way than normal. We have the opportunity to look below the chatter we would normally use to fill our lives and see something new. It may be something about how or why we fill the space with noise. It may be a story that is bubbling underneath the normal distractions and that wants to be spoken into the Circle. Or it may be that the peace of Silence - that unique, healing quiet of sitting together - has no need for anything else. So we sit quietly together, luxuriating in the gift of this very special type of companionship.