Monday, January 30, 2012
The Value Of Silence
While I was still home this morning, before I left for work, I was reading something about the value of silence in our lives. Most of us have too much noise in our lives. I received two articles over the weekend about introverts. They both basically said that introverts prefer environments that have minimal stimulation. In other words, introverts would prefer a quiet restaurant over a wild party. Noise, however, can take many forms. My best friend and my worst enemy is music. I’m addicted to music. I love music but I also use it as an escape. When I am at work I listen to music not only because I enjoy it but also to block out all the other noise and distractions around me. However, as one of the monks at Gethsemani once said, “Even Beethoven is noise when played all day”. Many of us have allowed more and more noise into our lives through technology. Today’s cutting edge cell phones bombard us all day with calls, text messages, emails, and Facebook updates. I got a new phone over the weekend and it is already tempting me with its siren song. It is trying to seduce me into being a lot more connected than I need to be. As nice as it is, it will, if I allow it, introduced another level of noise into my life. I will have to use some discipline to not allow this to happen. I don't want to become one of those people who is obsessed with their phone and who feels the need to check it every five minutes or every time it beeps. Silence is healing but most of us are addicted to noise. We are over-stimulated to the point that many of us are either hyper or nervous wrecks. Reduce the noise in your life and you will find a calmness that may have escaped you so far.
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