I recently gave a talk at a campus ministry retreat that centered on how we can respond to and deal with the chaos in our lives.
As I prayed and reflected upon what I would say in my talk, I considered the significance of the theme and how it was applicable to life today. The one word that continued to rise-up in my prayers and that finally landed on my heart was silence. Silence, I thought is the way to respond to the chaos in our lives.
There is so much going on around us, as we are besieged with information, opinions, and voices. Along with those noises we have responsibilities, duties, stresses, and worries. And, we have hopes, dreams, plans, and ideas. All of these things can excite or frighten us, stimulate or depress us. Surely, all of these incoming messages, feelings, and pressures can make us feel overwhelmed and unbalanced.
To live a more balanced life we need time to process and integrate our thoughts and feelings. Finding balance through prayer and silence allows us to be in touch with the will of God, His wisdom, and truth.
Not everyone is called to the disciplined and absolute silence of a cloistered monastery. (God knew what he was doing when he didn’t give me that vocation!) But, all of us are called to open ourselves to the wonders and wisdom of God by quieting the distractions and the chaos. All of us are called to make time for silence.