Excitement of Silence

A friend wrote me an email telling me he was too busy to read other people's blogs and that he doubted that anyone had time to read his blog. He was making a case for not writing on his blog regularly. I found his reasoning rather negative, and realized I'm tired of that "I'm too busy" excuse. So I'd like to address it tonight. Unless you're too busy...

Are you too busy? Why? Inventions like the computer, cars and cell phones are supposed to save you time. My friend (who is too busy to write his blog) saved himself a 10-hour round trip drive by sending me an email instead of talking to me in person about it. He saved at least an hour by sending me an email instead of trying to call me on the phone, getting my voicemail and waiting for a call back.

We save so much time every day it's ridiculous. But we don't think of it that way. We adapt ourselves to time-saving devices as quickly as cockroaches. The minute we save some time, we immediately get more busy. Now I have more time! I can do more things! It's an addiction.

But it's not just the fault of time-saving devices. Speaking from my own experience, I can say that being busy keeps me from feeling things I don't want to feel. I am less uncomfortable when I'm busy. For me being bored (a.k.a. not busy) is about the worst thing there is. Way, way worse than being too busy. So I would say that I am addicted to busy-ness. When my husband asks me how I am, I respond by telling him what I'm doing. Do you do that or is it just me?

What would I do if I weren't busy? Do you hear how crazy that question is?

Okay, so what do I do about that? I think I will start by trying to write some sentences without the word "do" in them. Okay. If I were not so busy, I could sit quietly in a meditative state more often. I could pray. I could "be."

Some people are able to just be. I've heard of these people and how intoxicating it is to be in their presence. Me, I've learned only in the last several years how stay quiet instead of chattering to fill the silence. Staying quiet is a cousin to "being," so I am getting somewhere; I don't feel like a hopeless case. And the last thing I want to do is try to do more to not do so much. I cannot hope to improve myself this way.

The worst thing about being busy is that you can't hear God. The Lady, one of the spiritual masters in the Miracle of Love, says that we must listen for the whispers of God. If you're in a noisy restaurant or bar it's hard to hear someone whisper. But if you're in a quiet room and someone whispers, they can often be heard from quite a distance. So if God is whispering, you have to get quieter to hear Him.

Let the time-saving devices save you time. And with some of your saved time, just be. I want to discover the excitement of silence. I want to know that boredom is actually not possible if I am present in a moment.

So for heaven's sake, take some time to just be. And while you're at it, read people's blogs.

Thank you for taking time to read this.