One of the effects of the pandemic is that many people are experiencing a newfound silence in their life, whether it is by being alone at home, being cut off from contact with family and friends, working remotely, convalescing from illness, or simply being fearful of human contact.
Dealing with silence can be a real challenge, particularly for people who are used to filling almost every moment of their life with noise and activity. For many of us silence can be very uncomfortable to experience for any length of time, especially if it is imposed upon us by our circumstances.
And yet, silence is a requisite for prayer and contemplation, the ability to block out all that is going on around me to focus inward. What is the quality of the silence that we experience? Is it the empty silence of boredom or loneliness, or is it a silence that is full, a silence that occasions a connection with the divine, the realization that we are all connected with the Spirit in the Body of Christ?
Photography is basically a solitary pursuit, but it is not a boring or lonely one. It is a way for me to connect both with the natural world around me and with the Spirit of the Creator, and it is for me a joyful and fulfilling pursuit–sort of a visual contemplation of creation, for which I am always grateful.
“We must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)
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