You can learn more in an hour of silence than you can in a year from books. Noise is the mouthpiece of the world. Silence is the mouthpiece of God. It is in the classroom of silence that God bestows His infinite wisdom on men and women.
We live in a noisy world. People wake up to clock radios, listen to the news while they shower, watch television while they eat breakfast, get into the car and listen to the morning shows on the way to work, listen to music all day over the intercom, talk incessantly on the phone between any number of meetings . . . Weneed a break from the noise.
Everything great in history has arisen from silence . . . even great noise. Beethoven and Mozart closed themselves off from the world and inhabited silent rooms for days at a time in order to hear things that no one else could hear—sounds so glorious that they themselves would never hear in the midst of the world, and yet sounds that the world would never know if Beethoven and Mozart had not befriended.
USA Today conducted a survey last year in which people were asked to name the ten things they feared the most. The most feared was death, and then flying. After flying . . . silence—followed closely by public speaking, dogs, snakes, and spiders. Why do we fear silence? Why do we avoid silence?
Silence introduces us to ourselves—for better and for worse. Silence convicts, suggests, and challenges—yes. But silence also consoles, heals, comforts, clears the mind, and gives courage to the weary heart. Peace is the fruit of silence.
Why do we fear and avoid silence? The truth is, most people believe that everything within them is worthless and embarrassing. That is why we live in a world terrified of silence and full of people dedicated to imitating other people instead of developing the unique individual that they are themselves.
Befriend silence. I am not suggesting that you spend four, five, six hours a day in silence. Drop by a church during the day when it is empty and quiet. Find a quiet corner and a comfortable chair at home. Leave the radio off in the car on the way to work. Have a television-free evening once a week. Try it. It works.
Matthew Kelly
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