Are You Choosing Noise or Silence?

As we enter a new year, a large part of the people I know have discussed various resolutions that they plan to conquer. Losing weight, reading the bible in a year, exercise more and so on. I am not much for setting resolutions as I often feel it sets you up for failure and why wait by putting off what you can start today?

One of the things that I have gradually been struggling with over the last few years, maybe longer, is all the noise! It is everywhere. You may be asking what noise I am talking about. I am talking about the constant flow of information that we get at every turn in life. Smart phones may just be the death of all of us. They are anxiety producing and brain mushing. Add to that everything is life can now interact with us at the touch of a button. Children can’t sleep in a crib anymore without a monitor and live microphone. Our refrigerators can control half of our homes. We control the temperature, sprinkler system and lights while lying on the beach somewhere while we are supposed to be on vacation.

I could go on, but you understand. As all of this noise is added to our life, we start to develop health problems, loose energy, fail to accomplish tasks and more. One of my gifts this past holiday was a book titled “The Rocking Chair Prophet” by Matthew Kelly. A quick read but definitely one to give you thought. Without going into all the details, the main character in the book embraced silence and found the answers he was looking for. He didn’t need a ton of books that lead him down another trail. He had all the answers he was looking for right inside.

As I look toward where I want to go in life, it is not going to be attainable with all the noise. I believe in the long run the noise will hinder my goals not help. Why? Because the noise will control my life. In the silence of less noise, I am clearer headed, more focused and can conquer so much more.

This requires that I just sit and be or take a walk without a phone or enjoy the beauty of a sunrise or sunset in silence. I don’t look at my phone first thing in the morning. I don’t look on Facebook every day. I am decluttering and looking for items for my home that are not Wi-Fi or Bluetooth compatible. It is good for my soul to just sit and be.

On a final note, we read in Acts 17:24 “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man”. Therefore the answer to a joyful and fulfilled life are not found in the contraptions that we create but, in his word.

It is not a glamorous goal but one that I hope increases my joy in life and enables me to reach my goals that much easier! I encourage you to find a moment to reduce the noise in your life and find silence. You might be amazed at how it makes you feel.

Contributed by Jessica Clemens