Silence

12 Aug

“The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind.” 
~ Caroline Myss

Silence.  That is one of the things that most people find hard to tolerate.  Silence is something that causes many people to be disturbed.  Silence, as a matter of fact, has been used throughout the ages as a method of torture.  Deprive someone of noise and, within a brief period of time, they begin to crack.  We crave noise.

One of the reasons we crave noise, I believe, is because it helps us to be distracted.  When we are silent, our minds can quickly begin to play games with us.  It brings up things from the past that we would rather leave forgotten.  It surfaces fears about future events.  It raises present insecurities.  Silence, for many, is an unwelcome visitor.

However, it does not have to be that way.  We need to turn silence into a welcome guest.  Silence can be a great gift.  It gives us the opportunity that we need to focus on things that are often left unattended because of our busy lives.  It gives us a chance to evaluate or re-evaluate what we have done or what we are planning to do.  It helps us to see the different people that have been with us in our experiences.  It also helps us to see how God has been present and working in our lives.

Silence should not be viewed as a foe.  Silence should be seen as a friend.

I know that, for many people, silence is hard to come by.  Working in a busy world, living in a busy household, doing things in a busy world, it is hard to find the time to invite silence into our lives.  Many people who do, especially for the first time, often find it very difficult.

I have known those who have gone away for a silent retreat.  The first day was often very difficult as they found themselves talking to others and fighting the urge to communicate.  The second day became a bit harder, but for different reasons.  While they may have attained silence on that second day, they found that the silence was beginning to speak to them in volumes.  By the third day, they often felt as if there was real noise in their room because of all the thoughts in their mind.  The challenge, at that point in time, was to silence the inner noise so that they could find the voice of God.

If they made it to the fourth day, they would find that the silence was more like a comforting blanket.  In that blissful silence, they could hear God speaking to them in recollection of past experiences, in memory of family and friends, and even directly.

Silence:  Friend or Foe?  Trust me.  Friend.

FAITH ACTION:  Make time in your schedule today to be alone and as silent as possible so that you give yourself a better chance to hear God as He speaks to you.