Henri Nouwen on Silence

Being silent seems like doing nothing, but it is precisely in silence that we confront our true selves. The sorrows of our lives often overwhelm us to such a degree that we will do everything not to face them. Radio, television, newspapers, books, films, but also hard work and a busy social life all can be ways to run away from ourselves and turn life into a long entertainment (which means, in the Latin, “to keep someone in between.”) Entertainment is everything that gets and keeps our mind away from things that are hard to face. Entertainment keeps us away from our fears and worries. But when we start living entertainment, we lose touch with our souls and become little more that spectators in a lifelong show. Even very useful and relevant work can become a way of forgetting who we really are.

Silence is the discipline that helps us go beyond the entertainment quality of our lives. There, we can look at our sorrows and joys emerge from their hidden places and look us in the face, saying, “Don’t be afraid; you can look at your own journey, its dark and light sides, and discover the way to freedom.”

Wherever we find silence, we should cherish it. Because it is in silence that we can truly acknowledge who we are and gradually claim ourselves as a gift from God.
--from Can You Drink the Wine
(Courtesy of Eddie Nichols)