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Are You a White Noise Junkie?

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By John Harvey
9/24/2008

Are you busy? Are you of the opinion that sleep steals precious working hours? Is your life filled with constant noise? I know I think these things and act this way. Our world is filled with well meaning distractions. Not all of which are harmful, and not all of which are helpful

Are you busy? Are you of the opinion that sleep steals precious working hours? Is your life filled with constant noise? Are you talking on the phone, checking email, and watching TV all at the same time? Yeah, so am I.

In the Fall, some teens from our youth ministry went to Camp Epachiseca for a retreat. Our theme was “Enjoy the Silence”. Looking back on this theme, it kind of makes me laugh. When was the last time you saw one of our youth just enjoying the silence? Maybe that’s why the sponsors and I thought it would be a good idea.

Sure, I can force teenagers to be quiet when I have them secluded in the middle of the woods, but what hypocrisy! Why would I teach teenagers about something I cannot even straighten out in my own life?! I confess, I am a noise junkie. Whether I am in the office, the car, my house, or the sanctuary; there is always some sort of noise. Don’t get me wrong, I really love listening to music, but my life is far from silent. Hopefully you can relate to this. In fact, my iTunes is a staple…even while I’m writing this article. What is it about silence that is so elusive? Perhaps the noise promotes business, and that is good because business equals productiveness. Hardly.

Out of frustration with myself and my apparent fear of silence, I conducted a little experiment. I decided to go silent for a day. The results were astonishing. It seemed as if more time had magically been added to my day. My head was clear, and my ears were open and undistracted. Although I missed my music and constant noise, it was a good day of reflection and peace. Now, you may be asking what this has to do with you, and of course, the teenagers. The results of my little experiment speak volumes about God and how He communicates to us. In scripture, it is written that God speaks to us in a still, small voice. If our lives are filled with constant noise from the computer, stereo, and cell phone; how are we supposed to hear that voice?

To be honest, I felt a little guilt and shame over my love for noise. To come to the understanding that I was blocking out God’s voice?! Ouch. Through my little experiment, I learned some things about my own bad habits and how God still comes through anyway. Although, God and I would communicate better if I didn’t block out His voice so much. Hopefully you’re resonating with me, and I’m not alone on this. I am still far from completely kicking my addiction to noise, but I am getting better. I hope that you are willing to conduct a “silence experiment” of your own. If you do, please let me know how it goes.

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It comes as no surprise to me that some of the strongest and most influencial Christians I have met throughout my life are hunters, fishermen, and people who spend a lot of time in the outdoors in general. The time that I spend outdoors be it in a deer stand, fishing, surfing in the early morning or late evening, hiking, or just getting away from everything is precious. It makes me aware of the presence of God in the world around me. One of the themes I have planned for this Spring is quiet. Our diocese does a retreat every year which is designed to deeper the youths' relationship with God not through games and community building, but through personal reflection, reading scripture outdoors, and personal reflection on scripture. It's amazing how much more aware the kids are after the weekend. Good article. Not enough people even touch on God speaking in the "still small voice" Too many people look for him in the winds and earthquakes.

Will 12:01:22pm on 1/05/2009

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Haha. Don't feel dumb John. Some of us are volunteers don't have a church ministry budget option, so we're not rushing out to get the next book or vid. It's nice to have access to articles like yours to feed our minds and souls. I love listening to my iPod when I take my dog for morning jog-walks. But once a week, I like to go to a dog park where there are woods and ponds instead of my neighborhood with cars and people. The first time I went I sensed God prompt me to leave the iPod at home and just enjoy nature and anything He might want to say sans electronics. It was refreshing to my head and my soul. And it's good discipline for me. Thanks for the example and encouragement. dm

Danette Matty 11:10:03am on 10/10/2008

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I feel kind of dumb now. I wrote this article before I knew about the Nooma video "Noise". It is the perfect companion to what I'm talking about here.

John 8:10:43am on 10/06/2008

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