I’m all for finding God in the silence. For me this means taking lots of naps, especially during the winter with its protracted darkness and chill.
Never mind that I also nap during the summer to escape sunlight that has become entirely too fierce. Truth to tell, I often feel called to nap throughout the day regardless of season. And yes, I believe that I am, at times, called to nap.
These naps are different from ones I take because I’m so sleepy that I cannot keep my eyes open another moment. Or, maybe not.
Maybe sleepiness is, paradoxically, a wake-up call? Dreams don’t even have to enter into the subliminal picture. In fact, it’s often more illuminating if they don’t.
Ah, the nap and spirituality! Sometimes, when I haven’t taken time for silence and I finally do, I will doze off simply from the exhaustion of being “busy.” One afternoon, after a particularly hectic stretch of several days, I went to the Perpetual Adoration chapel in our parish. There was only one other person in the chapel at the time. I settled into prayer and felt myself finally relaxing…so much so that I fell asleep! When I awoke, I thought “what must the other guy be thinking!” I looked over…and he was asleep, too!