Silence is golden

William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, said, "True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment."

Practicing silence effectively requires ... well... practice. It takes effort on your art. In his book Noise Reduction Leonard Koren writes, "Like an unbroken horse or a spoiled child, your mind will resist any attempts to discipline it."

We are addicted to noise. All day we are besieged with sound, from the time we wake up to the sound of the alarm until we drop off to sleep at night, often with the TV in the background to "keep us company."

Try a few moments of silence each day. And begin today. Just a few minutes with no music, no radio, no TV, no conversation. Just a few moments of absolute silence in the presence of God. These moments will be like nourishment to your soul.

As David wrote, "But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me." (Psalm 131:2)