Silence wins through

We are forever writing our inner commentaries on everything, commentaries that always reach the same practiced conclusions

In the beginning of a Camino silence only breaks through in patches. Although the forests and fields are free of human noise my own thoughts and worries crowd in. Most of my thinking in the early stages is repetitive and circling back on itself. Richard Rohr captures this bind when he writes that “we are forever writing our inner commentaries on everything, commentaries that always reach the same practiced conclusions.”

The steep ascents and descents focus my mind on my feet and legs, and on the rock strewn, muddy path. Birds call me out of blindness to my surroundings whenever I threw myself down on my pack to rest. Exhaustion shatters my rationality. Silence wins through in the end. The long daily walks work like meditation for me, quieting my mind and allowing me to spiral down into silence and inner stillness.


[1] Rohr, Richard, “Just this: Prompts and Practices for Contemplation” Centre for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, new Mexico, 2018