Distilling

All sorts of thoughts and ideas were crowding through the brain pathways in the rush to become spoken words and shared thoughts. I was eager to tell, to speak, to vocalize the thoughts and find connecting points with this other person.

She smiled as I spoke, and said, Let it soothe you.

The words reached into my consciousness but I rambled on with the flow of thoughts, rather like a torrential stream after a deluge of rain.

She took my hands in hers and said, Let it soothe you.

Still I rambled on and then she took my face in her strong hands, moved closer into my space, looked deeply into my eyes and strongly, passionately said, Let it soothe you.

I opened my mouth to speak and she raised her eyebrows, still held my face in her hands and repeated, Let it soothe you.

Stopping mid-stride in a race causes one to loose balance, to tilt forward and then backward. I stopped, tilted and absorbed the words. I have been pondering “let it soothe you” for days, standing still to understand what this means.

It’s all about distillation. Irish Whiskey (as I’m Irish I am partial to this particular beverage on occasion) is distilled three times and during this process it breaths attaining the desired aroma, flavouring and colour. If some were to be skimmed off too early the richness would be sacrificed and lost.

Too soon – too soon the words are spoken. Before they have had time to take the desired process from my head to my heard where not only will they make deeper connections within but they will have time breath, to take on the aroma, flavour and colour that is required. As I own them, am patient with them, they will soothe my anxious heart; they will draw me to the place of being still and knowing God. In the distilling the intellect and the heart are fully connected and open to the learning of the truth the ideas hold.

Too often our own neediness causes us to rush forward. My neediness has me quickly voice my thoughts because for so long my voice was invalidated. My voice is not to be used simply to let rambling thoughts enter into the atmosphere but in my anxiety they have. They may be truths being discovered but for them to be owned they must stay in the complete distilling process and thereby soothe me. Truth may disturb but it is also to soothe. Water may soothe the thirst by entering the mouth and then moving deeper into the body. Truth will calm, it will ease the pain, and it will settle within – it will distill in the depths of the soul its own Light.

I sit quietly tonight waiting to understand and to let myself be soothed with the stillness.