Joys of Silence

One of the things I love about this time of year is being able to sleep with windows open. And when I get up, I open a few doors in the early morning, for fresh cool air... and the sound of birds singing.

Before the sounds of traffic begin to hum in the background, I love to sit with my cup of coffee and listen to the sounds of nature around me: Geese flying overhead, birds chirping... (even when their songs wake me up!)

I think of all this when I read these words by Ben Okri:

"I think we need more
of the wordless
in our lives.
We need more stillness,
more of a sense of wonder,
a feeling for the mystery of life."

(By Ben Okri, quoted in Lost in Wonder, p. 136)