“The Lord said [to Elijah] ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence*”.
*or ’still small voice’
1 Kings 19:11-12
Silence is not the absence of sound it is rather absence of speaking and the beginning of listening. John O’ Donohue wrote that “Behind your image, below your words, above your thoughts, the silence of another world waits.”
I do not think that silence leads us necessarily to anything supernatural. Rather, it leads us to the deeper natural, the parts of existence to which we pay little attention, because we never stop to listen for long enough. I believe there is a deep human need for the deeper-natural that we find in silence. So where has this silence gone?
Between the years 1066 and 1800 England’s population grew from about 1 million to 8 million. In the two hundred years since, the population grew to just over 49 million. So for every person alive in 1066 there are now another 48 people, and for every person alive in 1800, there are now another 5 people. That’s a lot more chatter! The great growth in population coincided with industrialisation in this country. I want to argue here that for the greater part of human existence, the world has been a much quieter place, fewer people and no mechanical noise. The loudest thing most people heard before the industrial revolution was the odd clap of thunder. I have often thought that one of the reasons people no longer believe in God is because we can no longer hear the ’still small voice’, we no longer experience the sound of silence.
Quietness, like trees, clean seas and dark skies, is just another part of our environment that we have lost through the process of industrialisation. We cannot turn the clocks back, and neither should we, for industrialisation has brought great benefits too. But just like other parts of our endangered habitat, silence should perhaps be sought out and conserved. Making time for this is difficult. I have suggested in the past buying an egg timer, turning it over and spending three minutes looking at the sands and just listening. That’s one way. Perhaps, also, we need to look for the natural silences, for instance, the tiny pause at the top of each breath. The silence that can be found in the midst of a busy supermarket, surrounded by people – yes, even this can be a place of inner silence in the midst of a busy Christmas. I think we urgently need to find silence as much as we need clean air and clean water.
‘How silently, how silently, The wondrous gift is given!’
There is a gift to be found in silence, but this gift is one of which we cannot speak, we can but listen, look and silently behold.
Brislington Community News 