Silence

What is silence and do we give ourselves the opportunity to truly experience it?

According to a Thesaurus other words for silence are: calm, dead air, hush, lull, muteness, quiet, speechlessness, stillness.

I like to sit quietly, emptying my mind of any concerns, responsibilities, thoughts. I just listen. The Basset Hound lying on the couch, cuddled up to me, gently breathing as she sleeps. The ticking of the clock across the room. Birds chirping outside with an occasional car driving by.

I stare out the window watching trees sway in the breeze. The neighborhood is peaceful. I sip my morning coffee, soaking in the tranquility of the moment. No TV. No cell phone. No social media. Just silence.

Sometimes as I’m surrounded by silence I pray. What an excellent time to be close to God. Then I remember the verse from Psalms 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” I talk to Him, sometimes with eyes open staring out the window, sometimes with closed eyes. God feels so near in the silence.

Why don’t we allow ourselves these times of silence more often? Our lives become so busy we forget to be still. We think we have to keep moving because we have so much that needs to be done. I’m just as guilty of this as everyone else. I rarely take the time at home for silence. As I’m writing this I’m at my daughter’s home, dog sitting, while she and her family are away for a few days. I have time to do nothing, but sit quietly. There’s no household chores to be done. I don’t have to rush off to work. No responsibilities except to take care of a loving Basset Hound.

Quiet times are rejuvenating. Our bodies and minds need this down time even if it’s only for 10 minutes. Can’t we find just 10 minutes a day to be by ourselves and clear our minds of everything except God? Just those few precious moments of emptying our minds of all anxiety and focusing on God can do wonders for our stress levels. Sometimes spend it speaking to Him. Other times just listen and let Him speak.

Silence. We all need times of silence for our physical and emotional well-being. MAKE TIME TO BE SILENT.