Peace and quiet

Jeff and I went to the temple on Thursday. It was wonderful. I basked in the calm quiet peace there. It's been at least a year and a half since I last did a temple session, thanks to hard pregnancy and needy baby-nursing. I have been craving temple-style spiritual nourishment for a while, and it was such a joy to finally be there! When I walked into the temple I felt like a dry old sponge. While we were there, I slowly soaked up the peace and spirit till it filled me up. I entered crispy and shriveled, and left softened and full.

obligatory post-temple selfie!

Aside from the spirit and peace there, one of the things I love about the temple is the expectation of quiet. In daily life, it seems like noise is the norm--the expectation. It's some sort of social obligation we've created. When the phone rings, we are expected to talk and fill any silence with words. When we meet someone we know at the store, we are expected to have something to say. Even at church there's the expectation that we will talk. And in my home with three small inquisitive children, you'd better believe that there's rarely a quiet waking moment. Conversations have their place. Talking is necessary! It's just nice to have a place where talking is the exception rather than the rule.

As a soft-spoken introvert, conversing with people I don't know very well often makes me tense, especially during unanticipated encounters like phone calls and chance public meetings. (I think I have an inborn aversion to small talk, just like Mr. Darling in Peter Pan!) Don't get me wrong--I enjoy good, real conversation. A heartfelt talk with a close friend can be refreshing in so many ways. However, I feel the same way about silence. Spending a  quiet moment with a good friend can be just as refreshing and meaningful--if not more so--as having a heart-to-heart conversation. 

In The Blue Castle, L. M. Montgomery wrote "If you can sit in silence with a person for half and hour and yet be entirely comfortable, you and that person can be friends. If you cannot, friends you'll never be and you need not waste time in trying." Laaa! That statement may not be true for everyone, but it is true for me. Silence is restful and rejuvenating. Quiet moments are when I prepare (aka brace myself) for noise.

Back to the temple: I love how easy it is to sit next to a complete stranger in the temple without any obligation to make conversation. It makes me feel  at ease to know that we are all there quietly soaking up the peace together. It charges my Shaina-batteries and helps me find my center. It opens my heart to inspiration. 

I love our little Columbia River Temple. And that blue sky! And Grama Leslie for watching the kids so Jeff and I could go inside together.

There is something to be said for a peaceful, companionable silence. That's a thought I took away from the temple this week: the power of taking time to be quiet together in this loud busy world. 

I just know our kids will learn that one day...