The Sound of Silence
Travelog Oct. 14 6:20pm Istanbul, bridge to the world, one city that spans two continents
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19:11b-12
Yes, in the story, the Lord was in the whisper. I’ve been thinking lately about silence.
Early one crisp fall Saturday morning several years ago, I spontaneously decided to go on a 30-mile walk. I packed a small knapsack with water and a few snack bars. Then I posted a message on Facebook inviting my wife (who had no idea what I was up to) to meet me for dinner at a tavern at the end of the walk. With high hopes for the day and for her seeing the message (I had no Plan B to get home), I set out.
When my daughter later heard about this, she asked me, “What did you do?” At first I didn’t understand the question. But then she added, “Did you listen to podcasts? Or an audiobook?” She wanted to know what I did while I walked the 30 miles.
My answer… “I walked. I observed. I prayed. I reflected. That’s it.”
This brings me to the topic for today, the sound of silence. There’s just so much noise, noise, noise (Grinch quote) in the world today. Not the happy Hoos in Hooville kind of happy noise (although, thankfully, there is some of that). But all the noise coming at us from a world that can be demanding, confused, hostile, combative, self-interested, needy, and, thanks to the wonders of the internet, personal devices and social media, constantly streaming all of the above.
When I first used social media, I enjoyed checking in every few days to see what people I know and care about were up to. A friend on a trip. A second cousin is pregnant. My old classmate got a new job. Nice.
Then I got my first notification. I thought, hmmm, OK, I suppose this must be something important or relevant to me. Then another notification popped up. And another. I felt interrupted and bothered. I thought, that’s it, you’re done. Social media apps, you do not get to decide what is important in my life and when. Time and space are too precious to me. I turned off notifications. They’ve been off ever since.
If we want peace, we need to block the noise.
Thomas Jefferson once said, “Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far.” I have been taking daily long walks for the last five or so years. It started as a Fitbit 10,000 steps a day thing. And now it’s just my thing. When I can I go 4-5 miles. As I get into the woods near my house, it begins to grow quiet. The sounds of the city slowly yield to the sounds of the stream, of calling birds, of the wind in the leaves, of the distant bullfrog.
And sometimes, almost nothing at all, the sound of silence.
In this space my brain rests. I pray, I reflect. I begin to visualize activities to come, preparing for important moments. I imagine new worlds to inhabit. The reason I am in Europe now is to do work that I love with my favorite partner (my wife, Caryn) in places and with people we both love dearly. This is a world that formed over time in thoughts and images while on my long walks over the last several years.
I am, among other things, a coach and workshop facilitator in the art of public speaking. In that space we talk a lot about the power of the pause. Often in speaking people go fast. Sometimes because they’re nervous. Sometimes because they try to cram in way too much information. We coaches ask our speakers to … slow … down…
And to add pauses.
Pauses are like deep breaths. They create space to process. Pauses serve as an invitation to the audience to join the story. They are like stops on the metro, giving time for people to get on board before heading to the destination. Those precious moments of silence add a sense of importance to whatever comes next.
It works in public speaking and it works in life. The power of the pause. The sound of silence. What a gift in a noisy world. What can you do to offer this gift to your weary soul?