We live in a world that seems to be built on “Can you hear me now?” Think about it. You are watching TV – it goes to commercial and the volume increases. Your email receives so many junk emails that you have to spend time daily hitting “delete, delete, delete . . . .” Your phone has different ring tones and alerts to make sure you don’t miss anything. Even your snail mail is loaded with money requests due to the most recent (fill in the blank) _________ (wildfire, hurricane, earthquake, refugee crisis). We seemingly grow insensitive or deaf to it all because we have hit overload.
As one author states, “When messages and information are plentiful, silence becomes essential if we are to distinguish what is important from what is insignificant or secondary.” In other words, if I am to be able to listen with discernment, I need a break from the cacophony of sounds and words clamoring for my attention, How do you get quiet to hear what is most important?
If Mondays are to matter, we need to be able to sort through the onslaught on our senses. So, I encourage you today – begin to build some space, some intentionally quiet places in your world. While this may entail turning off the technology or walking through a forest – find what is right for you that will give you that needed silence.