Christmas Eve, and a special quiet is with us. There is a special energy to this night. This silent night is a doorway into the mystic's heart in all of us. Christmas Eve, there is an opportunity to discover the source of all the giving and receiving. If we can go beyond the rush of the season and especially the rush of our own thoughts, there is a mystery to discover that can change our lives for the holidays, perhaps into the New Year, and much longer.
This mystery begins in the silence. The holiday stories are all about miraculous events that came out of a night of profound silence. We all know the stories, but do we know the silence from which the stories emerged? Finding time for silence can lead us to an inner silence where the peace and light at the source of the holidays can be with us.
With all the activity, if we can find the opportunity to just be, moments of stillness can be moments of perfect food, feeding some place inside of us that only silence can nourish. Sitting with a fire late at night, the star-filled sky, or watching the sunrise, the sweetness of silence can fill our body and fulfill a part of us that is longing. Snow, wind, rain, nature in its many voices, the music of silence can open and inspire us. In the silence on Christmas Eve is a spirit of giving, unique to this night among all others. There is a stillness that shelters us. The quiet can be our own personal doorway into the mystic's heart, the heart of simple peace. And simple peace can be a path into new life that includes the sacred.
The gifts of silence escape most people. We are chained to the noise, the news, and demands of normal life. Meanwhile the special peace found in silence is all around us. Silence can wash our thoughts and feelings, guiding us to the place inside of inner silence. Here is an inner home, a shelter to something beyond words and feelings. It is very beautiful to give silence all of our awareness. There is a great landscape to be found, the landscape of our heart. People who pray and meditate often have views of this inner landscape. But we can just as often be trapped in our mental worlds, occupied with all the chatter of our thoughts. Perhaps this night we can enjoy the joy of no thought, simply be, and receive what comes out of the stillness.
This night we can give ourselves the gift of embracing our hearts in silence. Taking time to enjoy silence is time for the simple beauty of life. When we are talking less, we are being more. In these moments, silence picks us up, wraps around, and holds our awareness. When our awareness is not busy, full of things to do, and seemingly endless thoughts, the heart has its own awareness. This Christmas Eve can be in simple peace and expectation. The mystic's heart is the child's heart in each of us, extremely present and available. What is life going to bring us this moment, this night?
Enjoying silence is learning to listen deeply and receive. Instead of managing all the details of the holiday, silence holds the place inside of us that is wonder, humility, giving. Silence reminds us of being more and doing less, to embrace this moment instead of hurrying to the next. The mystic's heart is a deep well of being inside of us, a well of trust, confidence, and abundance. Let's be quiet and allow our awareness to fall into the brilliant unknown of the night.
What better time to receive the touch of silence and begin a new journey of heartfulness. This time of outer and inner silence transforms us. As the quiet grows within, we discover the world around us is different. Our family, friends, life is somehow more present, bright, sacred. Silence has a presence and is a gift for everyone. Sharing silence with our love ones can be sharing the true gift of the season. Maybe the gift of silence is what this year's holiday is really about. The gift of silence can restore the mystic within an unbelieving soul. Given the opportunity, the peace and stillness this Christmas Eve can restore something even more beautiful: our innocence.
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