This piece is a reflection of my time spent at many silent meditation retreats at the Aryaloka Buddhist Center in New Market, New Hampshire.

As I await the morning meditation bell,

A flood of emotion and excitement fills my heart and soul.

The potential for connection is just ahead,

In each moment the possibility for fulfillment.

Hours feel like minutes in the predawn darkness and

Dark widows look down on me like all knowing eyes.

Buddha’s face, illuminated by candle flame,

Comes to life, filling the room with his essence.

At 5:30, a procession of sleepy souls makes its way

Up the creaky shrine room stairs as each takes their place on rows of blue cushions.

There are yawns from the now familiar faces and heads of tussled hair

As we each fade slowly into ourselves and become one in silence.

The next few hours are punctuated only by a creaking floor and the shuffles of re- positioning bodies.

We all appear to be different people on the outside but inside

Our humanness enables us to share a singular mindset and a connected purpose.

And when the days of sitting in silence come to an end, we will each move back into Our individual lives richer for the people we have met and

The fullness of the silence we have shared.