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“True silence is the rest of the mind and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment” (William Penn).
OUR NEED FOR QUIETNESS SEEMS TO INCREASE WITH EACH PASSING DAY. It’s a loud world we live in, in more ways than one, and we can’t endure loudness without some moments of relief. Torturers have always known that it’s possible to drive a human being insane by subjecting him to incessant noise, even if it’s no more than the dripping of water. We have an irrevocable need for quiet: our minds and hearts need stillness and silence to rest. And not only that, they need these things to grow. “I cannot be the man I should be without times of quietness. Stillness is an essential part of growing deeper as we grow older” (Charles R. Swindoll).
Our need for quietness, however, shouldn’t send us into the woods or up to the mountaintop to live apart from any other human beings. Quietness, like physical sleep, is a necessity now and then, but it’s not the ultimate goal of life, and we can’t allow our enjoyment of things like meditation to detract from our responsibilities to other people. As Morton Kelsey suggests, “What we do with our lives outwardly, how well we care for others, is as much a part of meditation as what we do in quietness and turning inward.”
Yet there’s no denying that we need more quietness than we usually attain in these days of urgent activity. The busier our lives become, the more discipline it takes to eke out times of solitude and serenity. Merely confessing that quietness is a virtue would be a step in the right direction, putting us on the path to greater joy. We’re too quick to dismiss ideals like quietness and simplicity as being obsolete, and we need to start appreciating their goodness once more. “Happiness is the harvest of a quiet eye” (Austin O’Malley).
Quietness is an aspect of maturity — physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. Both the perception of its value and the discipline of its practice require personal growth. And like most forms of positive growth, quietness calls for commitment.
If only I may grow
firmer,
simpler,
quieter,
warmer.
(Dag Hammarskjöld)
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
