Month: December 2025

“God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.”

When I first read these words of Mother Teresa, I thought about how in our modern world it can be difficult for many of us to find times of silence.  The fast pace, the ever present to-do list, the many types of distractions, the societal pressure to “not miss out” on this or that all decrease a person’s ability to find times of quiet.  It requires us to make an effort to have moments of silence, and we need those moments so that we can talk to our Creator and so that we can pray.

Prayer takes many forms:  asking our Creator to help people we know and ourselves during difficult times, saying prayers composed by others such as those we learned in religion classes and church services, praying for those who are on their next journeys, saying prayers of thanksgiving, praying for all the people in the world, praying that God’s will be done.  No matter how we pray, we need to step away from the busyness of our lives and set aside some time to do so.

Mother Teresa’s words are also meaningful to me in the way she speaks of God being the friend of silence and then refers to the silence of aspects of nature.  We human beings have an innate connection to nature—to its beauty and healthfulness as well as to its silence.  Often being in nature helps us to feel closer to the Divine, as does looking upward and seeing the stars and the moon, the sunrises and sunsets.

Our Creator created each of us as a unique human being with our own path to follow.  Sometimes being unique can be uncomfortable, including when we choose not to give in to societal pressures to do the “popular” things, to not miss out.  It can be hard when people distance themselves from us because they don’t recognize the importance of following one’s own path.

It’s essential to try our best to follow our paths that we have discerned through inner work, and that includes prioritizing times of silence in order to care for our souls.

“There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

This quote is by physicist Albert Einstein, a man who is well known for his many discoveries in physics and related fields.  I’ve found that he was also a man who had an appreciation for the intangible aspects of life, an example of which is the quotation I’ve chosen for this post.

When I first read Einstein’s words, one thought that came to mind was how lacking life would be for someone who doesn’t see anything as a miracle.  I also thought about how being able to see the miraculous in life is something for which we should be thankful, for doing so adds meaning to our lives.

These are some of the miracles for which I am thankful:

The miracle of the beauty of nature around me, even though I live in an urban area:  the trees, flowers, and other vegetation; the sky and sun and clouds.

The miracle of having had the experience of raising and loving my child who is an adult now and also of her, her husband, and their child being a special part of my life.

The miracle of “help from the universe”—those times when unexpected opportunities or changes or assistance occurred in my life.  Happenings that I did not cause to happen but that did, and that helped me on my earthly journey.

The miracle of love, both of my having love for others and for my being loved by others.

This is just the beginning of a long list of miracles that I have experienced and for which I thank our Creator.  We all have miracles in our lives, and our earthly journies are enriched when we see them and are grateful for them.