It was a Saturday afternoon at Helfrich Golf Course, and I was set to tee off with my two sons, Louis and Will, for a round of golf. As I readied to hit my opening shot, I could hear music blaring across the way from the 9th hole, where multiple groups approached the green. Even just a decade ago, this was a rare occurrence on the course, but over time, it has been relatively commonplace for people to play music from their phones or other devices while playing golf.
Standing there, after a busy, frenetic week filled with all sorts of noisy, challenging endeavors, I must admit that I found myself annoyed by the piercing break in the silence afforded by walking up and down the hilly landscape. As a fan of many music genres, part of me certainly understood the desire to bring a little extra fun and entertainment to the links, and yet as the three of us walked down the fairway and (temporarily) left the music behind, I couldn’t but help think that as our once quiet sanctuaries are increasingly filled with artificial noise, we are losing much more than just the quietness itself.
A recent Washington Post Article highlighted a new survey indicating that people in the US listen to nearly four hours of audio a day, and this doesn’t include noise from TV, audiobooks, or You Tube rants. The article title Why we can’t sit alone with our thoughts anymore posed a reflective consideration about the heightened need for people to fill their quiet time with various forms of noisy stimulation. While the impact of screen time and the addictive nature of devices have been widely studied, much less attention has been paid to the outcomes related to high levels of audio time.
Whatever the benefits might be, though, I’ve talked and written for years about the tremendous opportunity that silence brings, and that we as human beings need and crave silence more than we probably will ever know. With that, in no particular order, here’s my top ten list of reasons to celebrate the irreplaceable gift of silence
- It’s healthy for us. Imagine that we could do something for just a few minutes that actually has health benefits. Guess what, silence is that thing. Studies have found that even two minutes of silence can have positive changes in blood circulation and blood pressure associated with decreased tension (while a lack of silence is associated with increased irritability and edginess). But there’s so much more, along the lines of decreased depressive symptoms, less fatigue, and improved sleep patterns among many other benefits. This does even speak to the way that it can improve our memory and help us learn better (see more below).
- It’s creative and reflective. Research has indicated that we are often most reflective when we are away from the incessant noise of our days. In seeking out regular silence, even if it’s a quiet walk to get food during lunch, we are giving our mind time to process and reflect on whatever is most important or interesting. Whether we are mulling over a difficult task that we are trying to figure out, or just thinking about what’s for dinner than night, silence has a way of creating solutions and ideas that can’t be found in noisy confines.
- It’s free and available to everyone. In the inflated financial world we live, it’s great to have something available to us that that will never be charged or taxed. Many times in my life, I’ve been so thankful for the gift of fifteen minutes of silence when the rest of my day seemed so costly and complicated. While external silence may not always be so easy to achieve, but for which we should aspire regularly, the gift of intentional silence is a priceless commodity that rewards us exponentially.
- It helps form us. Let’s be honest. Not all silence is enjoyable, and depending on your circumstances, it can be downright uncomfortable and even scary. But even in its discomfort, silence forces us to confront realities as they are, and provides us with opportunities to consider how we might grow in ways that we are called. Filling our days with incessant noise is a sure recipe to avoid deeper reflection, but it’s also a missed opportunity to see how positive circumstances and growth can evolve out of a negative situation.
- It gives us a way to know others and our world that doesn’t depend upon language. Long before the world was dominated by artificial noise, Thomas Merton uttered these prophetic words. “When we have really met and known the world in silence, words do not separate us from the world nor from other men, nor from God, nor from ourselves because we no longer trust entirely in language to contain reality.” The reality is that whether language is a direct result of a face-to-face conversation, or someone posting online, we as human beings often place too much emphasis on what people say as it defines us and our world. Silence frees us from this, and allows us to see a different, and I would argue more important perspective: What does God’s design of our world and human beings teach us? Until we seek out regular periods of silence, we will have a difficult time considering this perspective.
- It allows us to concentrate well and work deeply. In 2016, Cal Newport published the bestselling book Deep Work, a treatise on the importance of taking a much deeper, more intentional approach to the work that we do, regardless of our profession or calling. As part of this book, Newport emphasized the critical nature of finding regular time to detach from the superficial, scattered communication patterns of today so that we can really begin the process of thinking more deeply and concentrating more fully about issues that matter. In doing so, what we find is that more cognitively demanding tasks become much easier, and we are able to master skill sets previously thought to be too complicated.
- It is authentic. Similar to #4, silence is real in a way that so much is not. The world is full of opportunities to delude and convince ourselves of just about anything. Sometimes it is true, but very often we might find ourselves adopting a reality that others believe only to find out later that it led us down an undesirable course. Take for example the billions of dollars spent in the last two decades to get all sorts of technology and devices into our school, only to find out much later that the costs of immersing our kids in “innovation” is greater than the gains it affords. Away from the noise of conformity and controversy, silence is telling in ways that much else is not. It has a way of unveiling not so much of what we might want to hear, but more so what we might need to hear. The moments of reflection away from the cacophony of distractions might not always be desirable, but they are sure likely to be real and important.
- It is peaceful. Everyone has their own relationship with silence, but just as well we all have our own relationship with noise, too, both of which can be challenging. The reality is that when silence is harnessed for its full potential, it provides a forum for peacefulness that is unrivaled. Over the years, whether is an early Sunday morning bike ride, or a hike through the woods, or even just standing in the yard at dusk after a long workday, peacefulness can be found away from the intrusive demands in our lives. For all the roles we assume in our lives, silence affords us the opportunity to find peace in who we truly are.
- It helps prevent burnout. Research indicates that those who take time away from the busyness and freneticism of life, whether for a few minutes or a few weeks, are more likely to come back renewed and refreshed. Historical figures of all kinds, during some of the most challenging eras that existed, have long recognized the importance of regular detachment from their demands. Whether it was Bollingen Tower for Carl Jung, Camp David for over eight decades of presidential retreats, or the desert for Jesus, time away in a quiet place is a well-recognized key to longevity and sustainability in multiple ways.
- It is timeless. For millennia, fads have come and fads have gone. Whether it is the clothes we wear, the art we create, the activities we pursue, or countless aspects of our daily lives, change is inevitable. What might seem the pinnacle of expression or experience now just years later may be quite out of style. Silence is timeless, never losing its value, its luster, its indelible influence on us and the world as we know it. In world saturated with noise, never has it been more relevant and never has it been so yearned for. The greatest of realities exist in the quietest of moments. As Elijah found out thousands of years before, the Lord was not in the wind, or the earthquake, or the fire, but in a gentle whisper. I sometimes wonder if I can hear him midst all the noise?
To learn more about silence and its benefits, see the following articles linked here:
https://james-schroeder.com/tag/silence
For simple tips in making silence part of your everyday life, consider the following in Part II:
