The Sound of Silence

At some hour this morning I was awakened by the sound of silence. Have you ever heard and really listened to the sound of silence? It can be frightening and unnerving when you’re not expecting it. It creeps into your soul and awakens your sense of awareness to all that is around you, challenging you to identify what it is that has changed.
We have had wind howling for the last week, its sound echoing through the trees, noisily moving anything in its wake, disturbing the peace; then suddenly and abruptly the wind went away this morning, leaving in its wake, the sound of silence.
The sudden change forced me out of my sleep as I am a very light sleeper – a common trait for mothers – and I sat up in my bed, looking around, trying to determine what it was that had changed. Why the air seemed so different and then I realized it was the sound of silence. Everything was so still, so calm, so eerie. And at the same time it was so peaceful so restful, the storm had passed. Feeling reassured, I pulled the covers back over me and drifted back off to sleep.
Then I was awoken in the morning by a blissful and hopeful sight - the sun was streaming through my windows pulling me out of my sleep, making me even more grateful for the brightness of the new day after a week of darkness, wind and rain. I went to my bathroom window and looked out at the day wakening. I watched the bluebirds return, going in and out of the bird box we had made for them trying to build their nest, trying to protect their nest from the sparrows, crows and kiskadees.
And then under the large golden shower bush, which incidentally held on to the majority of its brilliant yellow flowers during the storm, sat a brilliant red bird singing its morning song. The colours and peace after the storm were starting to return, the birds comfortable now to resume their daily lives, and the flowers on the trees. The garden was a flurry of activity as nature went about restoring itself amidst the sound of silence. Sending through me a sense of purpose. A sense of peace. Gratitude.
I often take my lead from nature because it reminds me of our inherent resilience - the ability to regenerate and renew and it often begins with the sound of silence. A place where we need to go after every storm to allow us to calm and renew in order to grow.