I read an interesting take on the value of silence in a book a few months back and I have been continuing to process it since then. Alan Jacobs wrote about an idea that I had never thought much about before:
“Solitude may be more accessible for modern Westerners than for anyone else in history, but it would be perverse to say that we have too much of it.”
I’ve never stopped to reflect much on the first point of this sentence, but as soon as I thought back to my experiences in traveling I immediately agreed with it. The last country I traveled to was Egypt and I remember telling my wife how quiet it was when I got home. Between the noise of the city and the continual calls to prayer (even through the night), you get used to constant noise.
What we easily forget is the luxury of available silence in our lives.
But are we making the most of it? Are we taking advantage of that luxury and using it well? As Americans we can easily forget that not everyone has it. In fact, depending on where you live you may experience different degrees of it. Our availability of silence decreases for those living in large families, or in apartment complexes, or even in the downtown of a city. Despite that, most of us have places we can go to find silence. It may be a library, a park, or just going for a drive away from the commotion. Most of us don’t want to live in perpetual silence but we can easily forget the benefits that having silence at our disposal allows us. It can help you to gather your thoughts, to catch your breath, or to better hear the Voice of God.
Make a note to enjoy a time of silence soon. It is a gift, and a luxury, and it may not always be there.
Wow! I would have thought the opposite. It seems that our lives as westerners are so busy, noisy, and chaotic, yet we really do have the luxury of silence if we so choose to make time for it. Thanks for sharing this insight! Btw, where on earth did you find that awesome picture?
Haha, the power of Google search!
Jeremy,
What a great reminder. Silence and solitude are such God-given gifts that we often do not accept. My favorite author is Henri Nouwen and he writes a lot about the need to cling to God in a quiet place. He notes that solitude and silence are so uncomfortable to us because we are left to just be ourselves before a God who loves us. That can be intimidating because of the variety of ways that God could show up to us in those times. In that space, God is out of our percieved control and may convict us of sin, call us to make an impact, give us a big idea, ask us to forgive another or ourselves, or simply affirm his love for us. Ultimately, silence and solitude call us to stop getting our identity in the things we produce, and find our identity in the presence of Christ alone. In Bread for the Journey, Nouwen says this better than I in saying:
“When we enter into solitude to be with God alone, we quickly discover how dependent we are. Without the many distractions of our daily lives, we feel anxious and tense. When nobody speaks to us, calls on us, or needs our help, we start feeling like nobodies. Then we begin wondering whether we are useful, valuable, and significant. Our tendency is to leave this fearful solitude quickly and get busy again to reassure ourselves that we are “somebodies.” But that is a temptation, because what makes us somebodies is not other people’s responses to us but God’s eternal love for us.
“To claim the truth of ourselves we have to cling to our God in solitude as to the One who makes us who we are.”
I hope we can both make space for solitude today!
I am excited for you guys and celebrating the good news that you will be a dad to a little girl!
TG