A practice of silence can help you to know yourself, others, and God better. How does that happen? One of the most common reasons for avoiding silence is that we run from our inner pain. There is a fundamental connection between awareness and heartbreak. When we are quiet we notice where our heartbreaks are. And sometimes, these are difficult to bear. So, in the quiet, our inner chatter begins. We flee into a “noisy” world we can control. A practice of silence brings us to confront our heartbreaks and our disappointments and offer them to God. Silence is revelatory. It shows us where our real needs and priorities are. In the same way, silence shows us where there is room to grow. Just as seeds form in silence, so seeds of what is possible in us form in silence. Stilling our outer and inner noise allows us to be aware of what may be emerging in us. The practice of silence is a form of waiting. Waiting purges what is merely insistent and leaves only the absolutely necessary crying for attention.
Naomi Wenger
“Practicing Silence” in Topology Magazine
