Be patient with silence. It gives a little, and then it gives more if we do not abuse the initial silence. It is like floating in water; once we stop fighting it, we float even better. Leave the silence open-ended. Do not try to settle the dust. Do not rush to resolve the inner conflict. Do not seek a glib, quick answer, but leave all things for a while in the silent space. Do not rush to judgment. That is what it really means that God alone is the judge (see James 4:12). Inner silence frees us from the burden of thinking that our judgment is needed or important. Real silence moves us from knowing things to perceiving a presence that has a reality in itself. Could that be God? There is then a mutuality between each of us and all things.
—from the book Silent Compassion: Finding God in Contemplation
by Richard Rohr, OFM
