winter has arrived. our lives slow just as anilmals’ do....if we allow it. for many, this time is one of frenzy and acquisition. for others it is a time to draw inward, listen and wait. it is a time of silence.
in the woods the birds are more still, the little creatures burrow in their dens for many hours each day, emerging only in search of food, if at all. the insects live in a state of torpor, waiting for the warmth.all is silent.maimonides, (1135-1204) was a preeminent sephardic jewish philosopher, physician and astronomer.
he said “silence is the fence around wisdom.”
can we open to the silence of winter to allow wisdom to emerge? each of us elders holds a wealth of wisdom.. not because we are ‘special’ but because we are unique. no one else has experienced our lives. no one has felt our emotions and sensations. no one else has thought our thoughts. no one else was, is or will be the unique combination that we are. and so we hold wisdom...the wisdom of our unique being.
in wintertime we can become silent enough, deeply silent enough, to recognise our wisdom. we can know the depth of our experience and, in springtime, allow it to emerge into the world...the world of our immediate circle or the world at large. we can open to our own wisdom. we can value our experience and hold it high regard. we can repair what is damaged so that it no longer holds us in thrall, limiting our actions and perceptions.we can allow the silence of winter to foster our wisdom and be maimonidies’ emissaries.