It’s not such an advantage to be a go-getter when you’re trying to sit in silence. If you’re going to “go get” the objective, you have to do more than just pause: you have to stop. You have to feel the silence all the way to your toes, keep blinking (sleep is not the same as silence, I don’t care what my body tells me), and trust that the world won’t end just because you stop for a brief respite.
Try it. Silence is therapeutic. The ensuing chaos of your life will be bearable because you renewed yourself in the silence.
When I was younger and our church had hired our first youth minister, I went on a lenten retreat in Laredo. The brothers there from the Community of St John (it was their retreat center – convent before the sisters moved across the street) taught us about their desert day. One day a week they would have a day of silence. It was the most beautiful thing.
Whenever I am on retreat now (with the woman who was my youth minister at the time), I always check the schedule first thing for our desert day.
Desert day…love it Laura! One of these days, I’m going to have to go on retreat. (Just think how much I will have to write about then!!!)