Our house was a bit crazy the past couple of weeks. Actually, stressful is a better word to describe it. Everyone was in an eternal irritable state – even the dogs. The kids were fighting, Mark and I were barking at each other and the dogs – well they seemed irked over the lack of a walk and went in the backyard and chewed up part of the playset! (Oh yeah, mama wasn’t happy!)

I made numerous attempts to end it – I put the kids to bed earlier, slipped the dogs some extra treats and made heartier meals to keep Mark from being hungry – but the irritation continued. I couldn’t put my finger on it. Why were we all lacking peace?

One day, my 8-year-old daughter and I were in the car when she snapped at me about something I did that bothered her (I think yawned or something – it was pretty annoying.

It’s 11:09 p.m. Thursday night. Finally all is quiet, except for some gurgling from my refrigerator and the quiet whirr of the ceiling fan. After a day filled with trilling phones, competing music from three different offices, and chattering voices over the roar of air conditioning, my ears are still ringing. But now, I can slow down. I can sit in silence. I can think.

We live in a world filled with noise—and distraction. It’s a rare moment we’re allowed to steal away to somewhere quiet where our minds can rest and be refreshed. In fact, our bodies even fight it. Since constant stimulation is as close as a flip of a radio knob or buttons on a remote or cell phone, many of us give in to the temptation to keep our minds buzzing and our thoughts tightly-wound.

It’s not uncommon to look to your left and right at an intersection and see your neighbors with cell phones glued to their ears. As soon as they step into their cars, the silence compels them to grab the phone and “make use” of the time—although the calls are actually used to “pass the time.” I’m so guilty of this too.

continue reading