A number of years ago I took an early morning walk through the streets of Dublin. It was summer. The sun was shining brightly, the birds were singing and the air was still. As I enjoyed this unusual experience of city silence a young man rode past me on a bicycle. He had a radio tied to his handlebars and it filled the silence with loud pop music. Later I shared my experience with someone I considered wise. His insight was helpful. “We have a tendency to fill silence with noise rather than turn it into solitude.”
Many of us find silence difficult, perhaps uncomfortable. Because of this we are not willing to create times of silence. What is more, if we are offered opportunities for silence we fill them with all sorts of noise. Silence does not have to be something we avoid. In fact, it is something we can treasure.
It is said that happiness is an inside job. Silence helps us to listen to what is going on within us, in our minds and hearts. An awareness of our deeper thoughts and feelings helps us to know who we are and to discover what it is we long for.
Silence also helps us to connect with God. In silence we can discover that we are never alone. In silence we are able to hear a ‘still small voice’ that tells us that we are loved and lovable as we are. In silence we can experience the companionship of God. This is what it means to turn silence into solitude. Solitude is finding a Presence in silence, a Presence that is accepting, affirming, reassuring and compassionate.
Jesus encourages us to make time for silence in our lives. He did so himself. The Gospel tells us that he often got up early in the morning and went off by himself to a ‘lonely’ place to pray. For Jesus silence was an experience of solitude. Silence can become an experience of solitude for us too.