In the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house and went off to a lonely place and prayed there.
Or: Shh..
Hey buddy,
I’ve noticed here lately that I’m slipping further and further into the white noise of the world around, both digitally and physically.
I’m job-hunting right now so there’s more time spent networking on Linkedin.
The baby will be here in a like three months, so there’s a lot of mental and physical prep for that.
The climate at work is unstable because it’s unseasonably slow, especially compared to a record year last year.
Plus a hundred other little things.
I’m not complaining. Life isn’t supposed to be easy. There is value in the struggle. I’m working towards a checkpoint that I just can’t quite see yet, although I am certain that it’s there.
However, I’m out and I’m looking for diversion and I can tell how little that that is helping my mental state. It’s a Catch-22 and it can lead to an unpleasant downward cycle.
I’m sure you can relate. I hear a lot of voices in life and on-line that are extraordinarily displeased. That’s pretty much why I started writing this Substack. We need a positive counter to the negativity in our lives.
Part of the problem is that you and I hear too many voices all the time. We hear them here on Substack.
On X. On Facebook. On Instagram.
On podcasts, on the radio, on Spotify.
At the store, at work, at the gas station (whoever decided that we needed to hear commercials while we pump gas should be punished.)
Not just voices, but noise. Traffic sounds, the hum of computers and other machinery. Elevator music. The AC unit that I had turn off a minute ago because I became hyperaware of it while I was typing. The keyboard that I became hyperaware of because the AC unit wasn’t drowning it out.
It’s insane.
The point is, buddy, that we’re constantly bombarded with external auditory stimuli. Over time, I think that we internalize that stimuli and we are burdened by it even when we’re away from the source.
What you and I need to do is cultivate some silence.
We need to remove ourselves from the stimuli, give our minds some time to recalibrate and see what comes through.
Spoiler alert: It’s God.
In November of last year I went on a 3-day silent retreat at a nearby Catholic Mission and it was a life-changing experience. The attendees did not engage with each other. There were presentations scheduled throughout all three days that were excellent but not required. The whole point of the retreat was to be quiet so that you could hear God speak to you.
Think about that for a second. If I told you that you could hear the voice of God if you could just be quiet for a little bit, would you do it? Could you do it?
The first 24 hours of silence was oppressive. I missed my wife and daughters. I kept thinking about work and stupid everyday stuff. By the end of the third day, I had reached a peace that I hadn’t experienced in who knows how long.
I could go on and on about it, because it was an unbelievably powerful experience, but my point is this:
Noise is distraction. I think distraction is a tool of the Devil to draw us away from God. If you’re producing and it’s in a direction that’s not towards God, guess what, it’s away from God.
If the noise in your life takes you to a constant state of negativity, silence it.
If doom-scrolling headlines takes you to a dark place (guilty!), silence it.
If your freakin’ 15-year old AC unit makes a bunch of noise while you’re trying to think, silence it.
Our Lord knew the value of silent solitude. The headline for this article is a quote from Mark 1:35.
You need to remove yourself from the earthly distractions so that you can hear the divine communications.
Can you do ten minutes a day? I cobbled together a bunch of advice over the years into a technique that I like to call “The Tenner.” We use it here and there around the house, but when we do it’s highly beneficial. Ideally, you lay down for ten minutes with your eyes closed and don’t talk.
My humble scientific opinion is that it does the following:
Laying down reduces external physical stimuli/discomfort.
Closing your eyes removes external visual stimuli
Not talking reduces the remaining temptation to engage with the external.
The first few minutes can be brutal. By the end, there is almost always some clarity (if not a little nap)
There it is, my friend. We can only control what we can control, but maybe what you can control today is making a conscious effort to cultivate a little silence.
Your Friend,
Dave
P.S. - check out this link to shake-up your thoughts about the impact of noise on your long-term health.