I can't hear you!

After spending a couple of days on a retreat, I was really able to sit and think about certain things that I would otherwise not give any time to had I been at home fighting the noise of this world. I had the luxury a couple of weekends ago to live just a few days without iPods, computers, cell phones, TV's, soccer scores, bills, and all the other distractions that I've become all too familiar with. I was given the opportunity, even just for a few minutes, to really sit in quiet.

I realized how much noise we all live with. Not just music or TV or computers, but a deeper noise. A noise that cannot simply be shut off. We have to hear the noise of  things like stress, anxieties, and worries. We have to deal with problems at home, at work, or within ourselves. We have to battle habits, addictions, and our self-esteem. We have to battle our ideologies and philosophies. We have to listen to opinions as we make our own. We have to deal with ourselves.

It only took me a few short minutes in quiet, to understand that most of us, including myself, don't know what to do when it is still. We are afraid of quiet. We want constant noise. We don't want to be still, because it will force us to deal with things we otherwise would simply ignore. Being quiet makes us think. Thinking makes us reflect. Reflection challenges us to make decisions. Decisions breed change.

It is no wonder we don't 'hear' God. We aren't listening. And when He speaks, we can't hear Him, because the noise of other more 'important' things over power the voice of Stillness and Quiet.