The Silence of the lambs

Dear reader, have you contemplated the expression ’the silence of the lambs’ and wondered what it meant? For me, it means ’a state of unknowing’.

In April sunshine, under a clear blue sky, the little lambs skip and jump, obeying some sort of primeval urge. They are completely innocent of the sad fact that in a few weeks’ time, they will no doubt be food on a plate with new potatoes, green beans and mint sauce. Townies passing slowly by in their big cars with the windows up and the heating on, marvel at the bucolic scene. ’How sweet!’ they murmur, ’you can tell spring is here.’ The onlookers too suffer from a sort of ignorance.

Spring is a time of rapidly changing moods. A feeling of joy followed by a feeling of depression. Joy at the delights of nature, a fear that this will end and that we can’t stop time and hold on to the brevity of intense happiness.

Consider this:

’Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

Old Time is still a-flying,

This same bud that blooms today

Tomorrow will be dying’

And this:

’Come, be with me and be my love,

And we will all the pleasures prove.’

Both express longing for fruition of their love. Longing to change the situation, to be other than it is now. There’s an English saying ’Be careful what you ask for. You might get it.’ Is there something better or more lasting than this?

Yes, there is. It’s the silence that permeates all; that makes one lie by the side of a still lake, motionless, gazing at the surface of the water. The reflection of the green willow tree, the curve of the leaves, the brown of the branches, the shadow of the clouds. There is no need to hold onto to it. No need to anticipate, become preoccupied or concerned. Accept the moment and become a lamb for an instant: this is the ’state of unkowing’. Rest in it.