the silent treatment.

Some say that there is nothing more powerful and emotionally-stirring than the sound of things like: waves crashing against aged rocks, both lyrical and non-lyrical music, someone reciting a poem, a heart beat, a hurried ambulance's siren, or even a knock at the door. Think about all of the sounds that you hear each day (if you are able to hear, that is). Try to count them. Are you able to? I doubt that your answer to that question is "yes." We are constantly surrounded by audible tones, pitches, and vibrations that enter into our bodies through our ears, which are then quickly sent as informational data-packages to some cerebrial lobe in our brains. Almost everything around us produces a sound.

I feel that there is, however, one difference amongst our "daily sounds": most sounds are natural and caused by external forces (such as a bee's monotonous buzz or rain dancing on rooftops; things that neither you, nor I, have any control over), while others are caused by our own selves (annoyingly clicking a pen, pounding on a typewriter, or turning on the radio each time that we enter a vehicle). I can confidently state, then, that for some sounds we are the instigators, and for others, the innocent audience or by-standers.

For those of you who did not know already, this last week has been the time alloted to Spring Break for many university-attending students across the nation. Typically, Spring Break consists of many sounds: music on roadtrips, noises on the beach, laughing at parties, boats skimming across a lake, water splashing, etc. However, for me, it has been quite the opposite. Due to work and school-related obligations, that I had little or no control of, I, each day, went to work, to school, to the gym, and then eventually found myself at home. At work, I was engulfed in nothing but the silent hum of the ventilation system, with the occasional rattle of keyboard keys and out-of-rhythm mouse-clicks from off in the distance. At school, there were few, if any, other people on campus; which, of course, meant no gossip-filled talks, no footsteps up stairways, and no zipping-up of backpacks. At the gym is where I finally encountered some sort of sound, but nothing out of the ordinary: treadmill tracks, overhead music, and cliche conversations about a new type of protein powder that is supposedly proven to increase muscle-mass. After the gym, I came home to an almost empty apartment building: a place so quiet that each crunch of my usual Frosted Flakes cereal seemed to echo throughout the hallways, into each bedroom, and back. Let's just say, my Spring Break has been quiet.

"A story is told as much by silence as by speech." - Susan Griffin.

I am almost certain that you, whoever you are and wherever you are, have heard of or perhaps even experienced the concept of an "awkward silence." But my question today is: Why is silence considered awkward at all? Why is it that, if we do not have some sort of sound going on around us, we automatically feel the need to create it?

Fact: "the average group of people can tolerate no more than fifteen seconds of silence; if we are not making noise, we believe, nothing good is happening and something must be dying."

Can you believe that? Fifteen seconds! Think about where you are right now. Do you have music playing? Is the TV on in the other room? Is your phone beeping or buzzing? Are you tapping your foot, fingers, or hands? Is someone else in your house, apartment, or classroom making some sort of noise?

The point that I would like to make is that silence, although perceived as something awkward, weak, or dead, can be, and is something powerful, deep, and very much alive. It allows for our brains to not be distracted with miniscule and less-important things, but can allow for our lives to speak to us. It allows for some of life's greatest lessons to be pondered, disected, and learned. This last week for me has been quiet in terms of audible sounds; but, it has been incredibly noisy and chaotic in terms of listening to my life speak. To not seem bias towards complete and infinite silence, however, please know that I believe in the law of moderation: just this afternoon, I had an intelligent conversation with someone about Aristotle's idea of virtue being found somewhere between 'excess' and 'deficiency'. I want to make it clear that I am not saying that we should only sit in silence; sounds are powerful and almost necessary in our lives. What I am saying is that we must find a balance in all things, including that of polishing our ears toward silence.

"Be still and know that I am God."

Again, I do not know whether or not you believe in the same God that I do (if any God at all), but I agree entirely with the statement above. A synonym for the word silence is: to be still. I often hear of people searching for meaning in their lives, and especially in wondering if God exists and if He cares about us at all. In order to know that He is, we must be still: we must be silent.

One of my greatest passions and past-times is that of hiking in remote places. Miles away from civilization, with no other sounds than birds chirping, a fire cracking, or a stream constantly flowing: what a recipe to know that God exists! What a recipe to learn about ourselves, our passions, and our aspirations! However, I do want to make it clear that it is most definitely possible to have that experience and taste of that good recipe in any location. I have had the opportunity to live in very noisy and very eventful cities filled with cars honking, people screaming, and jack-hammers tickling the Earth. Even in such places, we can be silent and we can be still. At the beginning of this particular blog post, I mentioned that some sounds are out of our control, while at the same time, we are the pilots of most others.

With that in mind, this is my challenge to you: set aside time during each day to practice silence and learn to listen to "the flowing river of your life beneath the icy surface." Set aside time to do away with the sounds that are in your control. You can start with something simple: five minutes of sitting, pondering, and listening. Try going an entire day without your cell phone or ipod. Rather than turning on the television to watch a "life-changing" episode of the Bachelor, open a book and ignite your imagination. Be still and let your life speak to you. Let God speak to you. Let the silence speak to you.

Let silence become one of your heroes, your teachers, and your best friends.


Here's to truly listening to the silence of our lives.


Cheers.