Preparing for Something New at the Deep Well of Silence

Photo credit: http://www.chaoswallpapers.com      

Sometimes you miss opening night of the musical theater production your kids have been working on so intensively for the past two-and-a-half weeks, not because you are stocking up for your next experiment, but because you are still in search of that deep Well of Silence you lost track of years ago when you got distracted by a passing squirrel.

"I used to be a master meditator," you tell your oldest son, who has taken up a Silence practice of his own at times, "I sat near that Well every day, even with little kids and babies all around. But the busy and worry of the last few years has wrung that old practice right out of me."

"You'll find it again," he assures you, without qualification.

"Maybe if I had a camel and a compass," you think.

Instead, all you have are your own distracted thoughts. You sit quietly with them over the ten days your kids are otherwise engaged, and wait for a Guide to help you find your way back to that illusive Silent oasis. There are living waters in that place, meant to help you feel and embrace what is coming next. What you get right now is a lot of sand and grit in your face and a sense that the storm on the horizon might bring life giving rain or just strip you bare of so many of the things you thought you knew. Could be both, but the latter image makes you shudder. You shift your gaze. Change the scene. Draw your energy elsewhere.

Off in the distance you see the memory of attending every performance of every show you kids were in. You helped back stage, kept the flow going, helicoptered around herding little actors into place. Hover, hover. Then, last year, at 11-years-old, Hannah wrote, produced, and directed her own play with one of her friends and a cast of 25. You were only there as adult supervision. The experience reminds you how capable your kids are of doing amazing things without any of your hanging about. This show is KC's fist paid gig as stage manager. Caleb plays a supporting role, and sets the tone for the energy of the cast. And, Hannah is a Drama kid/dancer extraordinaire. Every day of rehearsal they took the car, headed to practice, ran errands, enjoyed taco shop treats or stopped for drinks. You watch, grateful, as they dip into the Well of Encouragement and Unity before heading home.

You are very quiet as the scene fades, but still find no sign of the Well of Silence. Maybe, right now, it doesn't matter. Because every day you prayed to find that well, you came across other wells instead. You found the Well of Comfort and Joy, the Well of Humor and Happiness, the Well of Hard Work, the Well of Patience and waiting - whose waters are sometimes more bitter than sweet. And, your kids know all about the Well of Love and Support you and your husband located for your family decades ago. Even in your absence on opening night, they don't have to go hunting for it. They know right where it is and can draw deeply from it any time.

So, tonight you leave the Well of Silence behind you somewhere and go to another oasis. Here you find two great performances, with all the fun, fan-fair, and hooplah attending closing night. Here is an awesome network of wells. You immerse in the waters of Singing, Dancing, Harmony, Comedy, and deepest of all, Gratitude. No camel or compass required.