SILENCE IS GOLDEN. AND UPLIFTING.
A wise man once said nothing. Proverb
True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what
sleep is to the body: nourishment and refreshment. William
Penn
About 30 years ago, I rode along
with Blair, a close friend whose work and church service required him to take
frequent trips of two or three hours. I was surprised to discover that he had
no radio or cassette player in his small pickup truck. I asked him how that
happened, since I thought radios were standard equipment in every vehicle.
"I custom-ordered the truck
with no radio," he answered. "It actually cost me money to have the
radio removed."
"But why did you do
that?" I asked.
"Because I didn't want to
tempt myself to give up my quiet time," he explained. "I was afraid
if I had a radio in my truck, I might turn it on during my long drives, which
would ruin the best part of my day."
That led into an extended
discussion on the mental and spiritual benefits of silence.
Blair taught religion classes to
high school and college students, and he was also a church leader in our area.
Blair worried that his students and his parishioners were so addicted to
constant chatter, music, and other forms of noise that they were unable to
follow the counsel in Psalms 46: 10 to "Be still, and know that I am
God."
He shared what Mother Theresa said
about coming to know God during periods of quiet.
"We
need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the
friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence;
see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence
to be able to touch souls."
Blair wanted others to find peace
in their hearts and lives. He understood what Khaled Hosseini meant when he
wrote: "Quiet is peace. Tranquility. Quiet is turning down the volume knob
on life. Silence is pushing the off button. Shutting it down. All of it."
Blair was disappointed that so many
he taught and led seemed unable to develop a pattern of daily meditation and
quietude. I asked him why he thought so few people were able to do something as
simple as sitting quietly for a few minutes.
"It can be a bit scary."
he said. "Although not true for all, I think many people are afraid of
what they'll find in the silence." His answer was similar to the words of
contemporary author Jefferson Bethke:
"We
refuse to turn off our computers, turn off our phones, log off Facebook, and
just sit in silence, because in those moments we might actually have to face up
to who we really are."
Over the years, I've been very
grateful for Blair's instruction on the benefits of silence. Quiet solitude has
served me well, allowing me to come to terms with the spiritual meaning of life
and to think through my day-to-day challenges, both personal and professional.
I've found it to be uplifting and reassuring.
I'm a big believer in the value of
quiet time, of finding a time and place for silence. On this topic, I'm on the
same page as Deepak Chopra, who wrote:
"Silence
is the great teacher. There is no substitute for the creative inspiration,
knowledge, and stability that come from knowing how to contact your core of
inner silence."
We need to not be afraid to turn
off the world for a few minutes every day. Our minds and souls will thank us
for it.
NOTE: In my next Wednesday Wisdom,
I'll focus on some amazing health benefits that silence offers us.
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