the sheer volume of noisiness all around us—
can feel like too much, can feel like
something that bears down on us
like a heavy weight at a time when,
more than ever, we need to feel lifted up.
Sometimes, it is hard even to hear ourselves think
when shouting is all around,
when discussion has become eclipsed by yelling,
with little or no regard for reason,
with little or no regard for the common good
or caring for one another. Sometimes we wonder
if peace and quiet will ever return to our lives,
to the life of our world, to the way
we operate as a people—we wonder if we will
even be capable of recognizing healing quiet
when it appears. And so it is that we pause now
for a moment of silence to experience together
something like the peace and quiet
we yearn for in our lives and in the world.
May we strive always for greater service, for love and justice.
May we bind our hearts together in this great undertaking.
And may we make room for peace and quiet to enter our lives.
Amen!
