Listening for the Hidden Current
Welcome to the quiet strength that resides within you, where love and grace are always present.
Howard Thurman’s late-night encounter with the sound of hidden water offers a powerful reminder about the nature of awareness. Beneath the surface noise of life—the clamor of responsibilities, anxieties, and restless thoughts—there is a deeper current that steadily flows. It is not that this current begins to move only when life grows quiet; rather, it has always been there. The difference is that in stillness, we become attuned to its presence.
This is the invitation Thurman extended when he spoke of “centering down.” It is not a matter of striving to reach a new state of mind, but instead learning to surrender the noise that so often distracts us. The gentle invitation is to listen—not with the ears, but with the heart. When we practice this listening, we are no longer consumed by surface chatter. Instead, we sense a quiet spaciousness where wisdom arises, peace unfolds, and the voice of the Divine becomes unmistakable.
Waiting in stillness is not passive; it is an intentional act of trust. To wait in silence is to welcome the fullness of presence. Thurman called this “brooding, lingering, tarrying timeless moments,” where the ordinary meets the extraordinary. These moments invite us to clear away bitterness, resentment, and cluttered thoughts so that we might become more available to the truth within us.
Thurman understood that mysticism is not reserved for a select few. It is available to anyone willing to listen with an open heart. Mystics are those who have learned to quiet themselves enough to perceive the hidden waters beneath the surface of life. They are those who sense the meaning woven into the fabric of ordinary moments.
When you turn your attention to this inner quiet, you are not isolating yourself from the world. Instead, you are opening yourself to a presence that deepens your sense of connection. In this spacious awareness, you may find that your love expands, your compassion grows, and your commitment to the well-being of others strengthens. Thurman believed that mystical awareness should naturally lead to acts of kindness, justice, and healing in the world. The flow of hidden water does not merely comfort us—it stirs us to become instruments of love’s presence wherever we are.
In the silence,
the hidden current rises—
steady, flowing, and unshaken.
No longer drowned by surface noise,
it whispers wisdom and breathes peace.
May your listening heart follow its quiet path
to the depth where love dwells, waiting for you.