大象传媒

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with The Rt Revd Dr Rosemarie Mallett, Bishop of Croydon

Good morning.

I love to wake early and quietly get ready for the day. I take a moment to enjoy the silence before the house comes to life.

I grew up in a noisy 1970s. At school, my friends enjoyed the heavy rock music of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. At home, the radio or television was on most of the time, the house awaking to the Shipping Forecast on Radio 4 and going down with the night-time closedown sequence on 大象传媒 TV. I still have the radio playing in the background most of the time.

Often, we feel that silence means no form of communication. This feeling is in stark contrast to the message contained in Simon and Garfunkel鈥檚 song 鈥淭he Sound of Silence鈥�. The images they drew of people talking without speaking, people listening without hearing, and words falling like silent raindrops painted a world where sound, which is so much a part of the rhythm of life, appears to neither inform nor communicate. And yet, perhaps that may be a consequence of those with ears to listen not doing so, neither to the sounds or to the silences.

We must not underestimate the power and value of silence. Taking time out for silent reflection, at home or on a walk, time to collect thoughts, reflect on challenges, make decisions. Quiet time when we don鈥檛 use words, can bring some outer and inner peace and can also make us more attentive listeners.

Loving God, help us hear what people are saying in their words or their silences, help me to listen with my heart, not just with my ears.

Amen.