Friends, it is a loud loud world. In an effort to set aside the daily news one night this past week, I watched a shocking number of Taylor Swift reels and learned that butterflies sometimes drink turtle tears.

While these were worthwhile distractions, they were just that – distractions. Thankfully there was also a chance to get really, really quiet – the quiet beyond scrolling, beyond lists, beyond even poetry or music. The bedrock quiet where we can hear our truest selves. Like visiting a beloved sacred place, or a cherished friend, even a moment in this realm brings a great sense of ease and replenishment and homecoming.

Dear ones, may we all have joyful distractions of the outer world to brighten our days.

And may we rest with faith upon our foundations within.

Think of the world you carry within you…be it remembrance of your own childhood or longing for your own future. Only be attentive to what is arising within you, and prize it above all that you perceive around you. What happens most deeply inside you is worthy of your whole love. Work with that and don’t waste too much time and courage explaining it to other people.

    – Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet