December 6, 2012
Dear Honey Run Friends,
Silence is a commodity that is hard to come by this day in age. With phones, radios, television, computers, iPods, the hum of appliances, the rumble of the city, we are bombarded with sound daily. My favorite aspect of winter is the silence. When I walk through woods with the snow covered ground the only sound I hear is the soft crunch of the unpacked snow. As I stop to be in the moment and look around there is silence, a calming silence that allows my ears to rest and my soul to connect. Every religion and meditative practice talks about the importance of silence in our lives. This is when we can connect with our higher being and offer a rare respite for our usually harried soul.
This silent epiphany occurred to Josef Mohr in 1818. Josef was a Roman Catholic Priest positioned in Oberndorf, Austria tending to his congregation. Christmas Eve was coming and the organ was not working. Mohr had to figure out how to provide music for his congregation. He remembered a poem he wrote two years earlier about the night when the angels announced the birth of the long-awaited Messiah to the shepherds on a hillside. Mohr approached the church organist Franz Gruber and asked if he could compose a melody with the guitar for his poem. With only a few hours to work out the melody Gruber was successful. Mohr and Gruber performed the world debut of “Silent Night” on Christmas Eve 1818. This song created out of necessity and adversity shares the sentiment of all who hear it providing us with words for what our souls long for; silence, calm, peace, Messiah and Savior.
My hope for you this holiday season, regardless of your personal beliefs, is that you are able to find and satisfy the silence we all need. Join me this month slowing down to appreciate all that we have been blessed with in our lives. Smell the fresh country air with a hint of pine as you settle down and admire the amazing light display of the night’s stars. If you need a haven to find this silence we welcome you to share this time with us at Honey Run.
Merry Christmas!
Jason Nies