There is no protection against adversity. There are no guarantees. What you have is yourself, made in the image of something very great, the Greatest thing. You have yourself, and the particular circumstances of your life. What you create is your measure of love. What you create is up to you. We choose what we will risk. But only the freedom that drives the risk matters.
The discipline of silence doesn't mean just taking a short vacation from the spoken word. It also means giving complete relaxation to the muscles, the tissues, the tongue itself. A modern writer once said: "Knowledge has never been known to enter the head via an open mouth." It is when you become completely silent that you are able to absorb knowledge. God speaks in silence. The discipline of silence is essential on the path.
~ from THE DISCIPLINE OF SILENCE, thanks to Edward C. Brady
