8. Silence Contributes to Healing

“Menders of all times and places have taught that silencing the thoughts in our heads and opening to the experiences of the body and emotions is the basis for all healing. It's the only means by which we can reclaim our true nature or feel the subtle cues telling us how to find our way through life.” 

 

- Martha Beck

I have read this quote before, but it strikes me with new understanding in the context of my daily walking. Silencing my thoughts usually seems like an impossible task, but the walking is showing me that it is possible--if only in small doses or a few paces at a time. In those quiet mid-day moments, I experience a taste of wordlessness, which creates space to feel my way through the grief and adjustment and uncertainty of this time. I am grateful for the wisdom of teachers like Martha. She reminds me that I can make it through this season of life, indeed I am doing it, and the walking is a guide.