The wind is blowing, a dog barks periodically, cars are passing by. A sprinkler system is running on a lawn down the block; there is the distinctive sound of a diesel truck slowly puttering down a nearby block; and 2 neighbors are talking. On the eastern horizon, lightning is putting on a display. Fireworks (or maybe gunshots) go off in the distance. It's the quiet of a city.
Today I had coffee (tea, really) with a friend. Somewhere the conversation turned to the discipline of Silence.
In college I had a humanities/sociology professor who immigrated to the U.S. from Ireland. One day he observed, "Americans cannot handle silence." Amid protests from the class, he asked whether the radio is always on when we drive, whether the TV comes on and stays on when we get home, and whether we can handle being in a space (room, car, etc) with another person in silence.
As I thought about those statements over the next few days, I discovered that I could not handle silence. So, I began to try to handle it for short periods of time. It was difficult. Then, I borrowed my dad's truck to use at school. The radio did not work. There was no tape deck, CD player, etc. I had my CB radio and that was it. Often I would listen in on trucker conversations but there were large portions of that 1500 mile drive where it was just me, the road noise, and my thoughts.
Over time, I have become more comfortable with silence. In fact, I now often drive without the radio on at all.
And now I wonder, can we really listen to God when we clutter our world with distracting sounds and images? There is a line from Psalm 46:10 that is quoted often, "Be still [or cease striving] and know that I am God". Can one "be still" without periodically taking time away from distraction to deal with the issues going on in life? Can one "be still" and not learn to enjoy some amount of silence or quiet?
Learning to love silence is not for the weak of heart. If you begin to relax in silence, you will be confronted by your own thoughts. Of course, in that space, you may also begin to converse with God in a way you never knew was possible.
Psalm 46 (New International Version)
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah
Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.
"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah
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