Quietness

Although I'm not an early bird, one of the things I like about getting up early is that it is almost quiet in my house.  I live in the middle of a city, and 24 hours a day 7 days a week there is noise from traffic, trains, helicopters, planes, dogs barking, sirens, etc.   But every once in awhile, an opportunity affords itself for me to not have my ears assaulted by noise.  A few weeks ago when I stopped in at the cemetery in my home town, which is located out in the country, it was so quiet and devoid of city noise that it was almost startling to me.  There is major line of railroad tracks which run beside it, and about every 15 or 20 minutes a train came hurtling by, but then was gone and things were still again except for a few birds calling.  It was almost like being in another world for a few minutes.

The distractions of life are many.  The solace is rare.  My challenge is as always, to find those moments and just rest.  This is a skill to be practiced, because just as sure as I sit down to enjoy some peace and quiet, my own thoughts become intrusive.  Not to generalize, but I've heard it said that men have a "nothing box" to hide in where truly, they think about "nothing".  Women, for the most part, are multitaskers.  We make lists, we plan shopping trips, we go over previous conversations in our heads, we think about our families, we list our concerns, we tweak our to do lists, we think about work, we go over our schedules, we plan meals, etc etc etc.  SOMEBODY needs to do that, but really, sitting in the stillness and just resting is so valuable that retreat centers have sprung up to give people opportunity to do that.

Find quiet and rest every day this week, at least for a minute or two.  It isn't time wasted.  It's renewal for soul and spirit.