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Silence. It can be a beautiful thing, and when used correctly, can be powerful too. It sometimes is hard to maintain silence, though. The world clutters your mind, makes you remember things from long ago that have been said and done.

Sometimes, you long for silence, but cannot ever find any. You find the world around you noisy, with televisions blaring, car alarms going off, obnoxious music playing just to draw attention. When this happens, you always want to just get away.

There is a way to do it without ever leaving, though. You just relax, release your worries, ignore all that is going around you, close your eyes.

Imagine yourself in a zen garden.

You sit on a nice stone bench. It is simple, not supposed to be eccentric but just there for you to rest and listen. You look around, seeing the place is fairly large and has a variety of plant life. You also see that there is a wall that has enclosed you. Next to you is a famous zen rock garden. You see a wooden rake there, and notice that the rocks are flat. Standing, you take the rake and try creating lines in the rock garden. The sound is strangely peaceful, and you go around three boulder-sized stones that sit there. Soon, you've raked the entire garden, and looking back at it, you notice that it has been done as perfectly as possible.

You wonder how you were able to do such a feat. How could someone with so much clutter in their mind create something so beautiful?

You return the rake to where you find it, and notice something sitting there. There is a little grey river stone, with your deer's pictogram etched into it. You pick it up curiously, and putting it into your pocket, you walk deeper into the garden, following a path made of stone.

Clonk! You hear something nearby, it's the only sound in the area.

Clonk! What is it? You start to hear trickling of water there too...

There, you find a pond. Koi swim around in the clear water, and in the center are bamboo poles that are tied together. One is loose, and at the top is a spout that pours water into it. As the little pole fills, it topples over, going clonk and releasing the water into the pond. As it empties, the pole returns upright and fills again.

You find this very relaxing, and there is another bench there. You sit and listen to it go clonk again and again. You notice a bowl sitting by the pond, with little pellets in it.

"It must be fish food.", you say to yourself. Taking it, you grab a handful and toss it into the pond. The koi swim up and eat the food, and you enjoy watching their mouths open and suck in the pellets. They must really enjoy it too.

You keep feeding them until you feel something in the bowl. You pull out another river stone, again with your deer's pictogram etched on it. You notice it is a little larger than the one you had first found. You pocket it and finish feeding the koi.

Putting the bowl on the bench, you continue on the path. As you are walking, you see a dimly lit corridor, surrounded by the stone wall. You step in curiously, seeing that it is a small room, but you can't really see anything there. You notice a stone lantern sits in the center of the room, and you find a box of matches sitting next to it. Taking the matches, you strike one and light the candle inside the lantern.

The room becomes well lit now, and looking on the walls, you see drawings on them - your deer. The flame in the lantern flickers and the drawings almost seem to move. You notice one brick on the wall is missing, and sitting in it is another river stone. You take the stone, looking at the drawings one last time before leaving.

You follow the path until it dead-ends in the center of the garden. You find what almost looks like a bird bath, but it has been filled with sand that has been raked in circles. You look at the three stones in your hand, and taking the largest one, you place it right in the center of the sand. You then balance the medium-sized stone on the largest, and then the smallest on the top. The three stones sit beautifully on the sand, and you feel that your deer wanted you to stack them there for a reason.

Is your mind clear?

What is troubling you?

Can you forgive yourself?

Then do so.

Silence. It can be a beautiful thing when used correctly.

It leads to positive thoughts, forgiveness, and well being.

Whenever you need to calm your mind, just return to your own personal zen garden. It is always waiting for you when you need it.