It’s in real quiet that we find ourselves again, and this is the kind of quiet that hardly exist to most people anymore.

Quiet away from the endless chores, daily grind and busy work that has no end.

Quiet away from children, spouses and the aches of wanting family to be something other than what it is.

Quiet and peace away from constant notifications from devices making sure you know that life is happening with or without you, and you better buy something now before it’s too late.

Silence.

It’s the truest luxury available and so very hard to have.

Yet, it’s in the deep woods this can be found. It’s in the deep woods that for just a moment we can feel what it is to be alive, human, and living amongst that which we come from.

Silence allows for the body to breathe again, and the trees breathe with each exhale just as they know how to do.

Silence helps shape true desire for things that matter most- belonging, safety, love and a closeness to the unseen but very much felt.

Silence can also be scary – when you finally get to meet yourself again and feel the love, joy, pain and sorrow of what has been lost through busyness and noise.

It’s in silence that we find we truly belong again – to something, to ourselves and to a better world that’s kind, open and welcoming, because that’s what silence is.

From a very quiet dark, wet and green corner of the Earth, it’s this moment that true silence seems to exist and I never want to let it go.

December 7, 2022 – the Oregon coast
Ashley Paquin