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In most meditation instructions that you'll hear here and in most places,

the assumption is that we're learning to quiet our mind, amongst other things,

that that's kind of a part of the deal.

And there's usually a shared value to quietness and to stillness.

And retreats are on silence, and there's a slowing down in a sense that that's, you know,

that's kind of where it's at.

And, you know, we see the statues of the Buddha.

And in those statues, the Buddha is not talking.

He's quiet.

He's not moving.

We don't see Buddha action figures, right?

And there's this kind of vibe of still, still.

And I know for myself, no matter what is going on in my life, no matter what it is, when my mind begins to quiet, when I kind of settle a little, when I pause, there is a sense

of coming back to what I value. There's some sense of coming home to a quality of presence,

awakeness, heart that I value.

And it comes when my mind quiets.

So I'm going to talk about quietness tonight.

And it's a little bit weird to talk about quietness,

but it's not really.

And I'll start with a poem many of you know

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