J.E. Solinski
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Books
  • About
  • Contact
  • Resources
  • My Favs!

Silence is Golden . . .

9/23/2017

1 Comment

 
Picture
I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts recently when the celebrity being interviewed made the comment that she liked to be surrounded by people because it was too quiet when she was alone. The silence bothered her. It gave her too much time to think. I smiled at the comment until I realized three modern truths.

One, we live in a world that is rarely silent.
Two, most of us are uncomfortable with silence.
And three, we desperately need silence.

Think about it. We are surrounded by constant noise––man-made noise. Outside, we rarely escape the sound of cars, lawnmowers, or others’ voices. Inside we can hear the whir of the air conditioner and fans or the hum of the refrigerator.

Should we find ourself without any of these artificially created sounds, we get a bit itchy. During class when everyone had settled into their work and the room fell silent, many students would look around nervously and then begin tapping a pencil or whispering to a neighbor. For many of us, if it is too quiet at home, we feel the need to turn on the TV or radio just to have some background noise. Some of us can’t even fall asleep if it is too quiet. And then, like the above mentioned celebrity, some of us surround ourselves with people so that we are not left alone in the quiet with our own thoughts.

But silence is necessary. Without silence everything else loses intensity. Take music, for instance. The rests in a musical composition are just as important as the notes played. Without that break, the next note or musical phrase is not as impactful. Comedic timing is all about the placement of silence––that pregnant pause before the punchline.

Finally, without silence we wouldn’t be able to hear the voices of nature or, more importantly, the whisper or God.

We truly do need to carve out some quiet time for ourselves each day, both figuratively and literally. We need to be alone with our own thoughts for a while so that God can speak to us through His Word, through the Holy Spirit, and through His Creation.

Silence truly is golden.

1 Comment
Linda C
9/23/2017 03:40:20 pm

Yes.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Jody Eileen Solinski spent her career teaching in the California public school system where she enjoyed helping young adults take their place in society. A native Californian, she enjoys the outdoors and so loves living in Northern California where she can enjoy the beauty of God’s creation up close.

    Picture
    Subscribe

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015

    Categories

    All
    Anger
    Appreciation
    Art
    Attitude
    Beauty
    Belief
    Books
    Bravery
    Calm
    Change
    Christian Bloggers
    Christian Living
    Christmas
    Cleansing
    Conflict
    Consistency
    Coronavirus
    Costs
    Demands
    Disappointment
    Discontent
    End Times
    Evil
    Faith
    Fatigue
    Fear
    Fires
    Focus
    Foolishness
    Forgiveness
    Frustration
    God's Protection
    God's Sovereignty
    God's Timing
    Good Intentions
    Grace
    Grief
    Healing
    Hell
    Holy Spirit
    Hopes
    Hymns
    Hypocrisy
    Ingenuity
    Isolation
    Jesus
    Legacies
    Listening
    Love
    Memories
    Money
    Mornings
    Mothers
    Music
    New Years
    Opportunities
    Order
    Pain
    Patience
    Peace
    Perfection
    Perseverance
    Perspective
    Prayer
    Pressure
    Promises
    Purpose
    Readiness
    Reading
    Reduction
    Refreshed
    Relationship
    Relief
    Remembering
    Renewed
    Reset
    Rest
    Sacrifice
    Science
    Seeing
    Self-Centeredness
    Service
    Sin
    Sleep
    Spiritual Diet
    Spiritual Life
    Storms
    Strength
    Suffering
    Summer
    Talents
    Temptation
    Thanksgiving
    The Bible
    The Tongue
    Troubles
    Trust
    Truth
    Unity
    Water
    Weaknesses
    Wise Counsel
    Worry
    Writing
    Youth

J.E. Solinski ©2015