Shhhh!

 

 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.   And Simon and his companions hunted for him.   When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.”

Mark 1:35-37 (NRSV)

It's 7:30 in the morning and through my open study window I hear the back-up beep of a vehicle, as well as some bumping around in the railway yard to the north of our suburban home. Cars are pulling out of our court as people leave for work and the public transit bus rambles by. Thankfully, I also hear a blue jay calling and a dog barking. We live in what could be described as a nice, quiet neighbourhood, but it is almost never really still.

When we were perched on an island in the North Atlantic for the month of July we were aware of the deep silence, particularly at night. On Change Islands we could hear the waves lapping on the shore in front of the house we rented, the wind in the trees, and even the sound of portions of icebergs collapsing into the sea. But we seldom heard much else, particularly in the evening and night and early morning, except for the crows and gulls. This "geophony" and "biophony" was a welcome respite from the "anthrophony", the human-made sounds which are our constant companions and make it difficult to "hear ourselves think."

If you've read this blog in the past you are aware of how important I feel it is to establish pools of quiet and tranquility in our lives in order to be attuned to God's voice and to listen to ourselves. We may think we tune out the noise of our busy culture but the scientific evidence reminds us that it affects us just the same.  

Apparently this is National Quiet Day. I heard this from David Common, on CBC Radio this morning. He mentioned it after the news and gave us a couple of seconds of dead air to make the point, but he couldn't pause for too long. Here is a description of the event which appears to be focused in Britain:

Shhh! It’s National Quiet Day on Wednesday, September 14. Noise is everywhere, on a crowded train, in the busy office, in the pub, the school playground, and even at home. We simply can’t seem to get away from the buzz of everyday life. Sometimes it can just all be too much.We know that peace and quiet is good for the both the body and the mind, but it’s increasingly difficult in today’s world to experience real quiet, and that’s why the first ever National Quiet Day is so important.
 
Judy Edworthy, Professor of Applied Psychology at Plymouth University said: “Noise can be fatiguing, it can increase our stress levels, it can cause annoyance, it affects our ability to concentrate, and it can affect our whole body directly in ways which are not always obvious.”
 
So why not stop, take a little time for yourself, discover your inner Zen, and enjoy some sanctuary in silence on September 14, if even for just a moment. For more information on National Quiet Day, visit www.quietday.co.uk and follow #nationalquietday for updates on social media.

It goes on to note that the day is co-sponsored by Whirlpool appliances!

Do you find ways to swim out of the whirlpool of noise and enter into the quiet? Is quiet a luxury of the affluent?

Do you experience greater clarity and focus when there isn't a welter of human-made sounds impinging on your life? How about listening for the "still, small voice" of God? If it was important for Jesus...


While you're here, why not check out today's Groundling blog musings as well?
http://groundlingearthyheavenly.blogspot.ca/2017/09/memories-of-solitude-on-quiet-day.html