Friend describes power of silence for BBC Mother’s Day service
‘The broadcast reminded me how our way into the silence can change as we grow and life circumstances change.'
A Welsh Quaker mother of two young children gave a moving reflection for the BBC on Sul y Mamau, Mother’s Day, focusing on the power of silence to help us listen to ourselves, and to God.
Laura Karadog, who is the administrator for Crynwyr Cymru (Quakers in Wales), said that she was introduced to Meeting for Worship by her mother as a teenager and at first found the silence difficult. However she gradually grew into its power, helped by her personal practice of yoga.
As a mother of two young children she realised that spaces of rest and silence were essential to her well-being and grounded her in a world where she was constantly called on to be busy. In the service (which can be listened to on the BBC Sounds website at www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0015v70) Laura draws upon other faiths and religious writers as well as the Bible and Advices and queries. Her reflection also includes Welsh songs and her mum’s favourite hymn.
Deborah Rowlands, who shared the broadcast with local Meetings in Wales, said she hopes that the service and an English version will appear on the Crynwyr Cymru (Quakers in Wales) website before too long.
She told the Friend: ‘The broadcast reminded me how our way into the silence can change as we grow and life circumstances change. And the crucial difference between a shared Meeting for Worship and individual meditation, even when that’s done communally. It also showed how our spirituality is grounded in our wider experience of community and language.’
