I awoke to the serene noise of a gentle rain shower making its way through the land. It was light out, but I didn’t bother to check the time. I could hear off in the distance the rain showers becoming heavier as they approached my hermitage.
I awoke again a couple hours later. I laid in bed in anticipation of a full day without any schedule, no phone calls to make, no emails to return, no text messages to answer, no kids to tend to. Just a day for me. Again, I didn’t bother to check the clock as I had nothing prompting me for my time.
I spent about 30 minutes reading my Bible while listening to the birds sing a multitude of what sounded like perfectly choreographed concerts. I made my way up to the lodge for a quick shower.
Upon my peaceful, 10-minute, walk back to my hermitage, I decided that I would grab my Bible, a book, and my journal and I would take a walk through the trails eventually ending up at a small open field named the Meditation Garden where a picnic table awaits you in the open sunlight.
I sat at the picnic table and just stared around in awe of God’s miraculous beauty in nature. The monkeys were clearly asleep as I felt for the first time in a decade, that I had nothing, nada, zip, zilch, NOTHING on my mind in those moments. It was quite strange to be honest. I could not hear the static of life, but I could hear something that I never hear.
- Bumblebees were buzzing.
- Caterpillars were crawling.
- Chipmunks were scrounging.
- Deer were dancing.
- Dragonfly’s were whizzing.
- Flies were flying.
- Squirrels were squeaking.
- Trees were whisking.
- Turkeys were gobbling.
- Woodpeckers were pecking.
As I sat there in what I thought was silence, I was blown away at the amazing orchestra that surrounded me. Then it dawned on me – you cannot hear this God-produced orchestra unless you are in silence. Silence is challenging, but oh so beautiful. As Paintner wrote, “Cultivating silence is about making space for another voice to speak. Silence is presence rather than absence.” Today, I am thankful I made space for God to speak through His creation.
I returned to my hermitage and shortly thereafter the monkeys were jumping around again. Should I turn the data back on on my phone so I can check my emails, my voicemails, my social media messages? Should I check in with my wife? Should I spy on them via our in-home camera? Should I, Should I, Should I…
I laid down and prayed that God would tie those blasted monkeys up and give them a good dose of Tylenol PM for the next 27 days. After successfully subduing the monkeys, I was fast asleep for another good nap.
I spent the remainder of my evening reading, journaling, sipping tea, and sitting in silence listening to God’s perfectly orchestrated masterpiece that we call nature.
I urge you to regularly practice silence as it helps us grow aware of the chatter of our minds and the judgments we carry about ourselves and others.
– Nick