The smell of burning wood permeated the cold winter morning. Walking alone, my footsteps my only companion, I discovered a staircase. Archaic and worn, it was nevertheless beautiful to behold in its antiquity. There was a profound stillness and aura of peace pervading the monastery. In deep reverie, the poignancy of the psalmist’s words stirred my soul.

“Be still and know that I am God Psalm 46:10