The Gift of Silence

Silence is a rare and precious gift, that too often we forget to take advantage of. With the constant noise that bombards our lives, from music and television to phone calls and street noise, we so infrequently find ourselves in the midst of silence. At least this is true for me. I get in my car, and turn on the radio. I go to work and talk with my co-workers. I walk down the street and call a friend. I go home and chat with my Husband. I get bored and turn on the TV. It is the rare moment that I find myself in the midst of silence, and the even rarer moment that I seek it out.

This truth hit me last week. As, the sun has come out and warmth returned to our lives, I ventured into the great outdoors for an afternoon run. This past winter I have been holed up in the comfort of a climate controlled gym, complete with fellow gym goers, televisions, music, and noise galore. So, as I found myself outside with only my thoughts and the birds, I began to get a bit antsy. I had not been silent for so long in quite some time, and I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. But, the longer I let myself sink into the depths of silence the more I began to enjoy it.

The Cathedral Youth found this to be true as well this past Sunday. This Lent in Youth Group we have been doing a series on creative forms of prayer. Last week we practiced the “Doodle Prayer”, from Sybil MacBeth’s book Praying in Color. As we practiced this interactive form of the prayer the youth were asked to keep silent (which I originally feared would be an impossible task). After a little squirming and resistance the room was suddenly filled only with the sound of markers on paper, and for ten whole minutes the youth sat in silence with their attention turned towards praying through doodles. It was a miraculous experience, and what was even more astounding was the fact that they stated they actually enjoyed the silence (they even requested to have more activities of this nature).

During our childhood when we heard our elders proclaim “silence is golden” we most likely rolled our eyes and ignored their statement. But, when we are given the opportunity to surround ourselves in the beauty of silence, and take on it’s contemplative and peace filled nature, we are able to see the richness it truly has to offer. As we come towards the end of Lent, nearing Holy Week, I invite you to make space and time for silence and the many gifts it has to offer in the midst of our noise filled lives.