Is it possible for an environment to be too quiet to be helpful?

I asked myself this question the other day because I’ve been working alone now for about seven months. I’m wondering if I’m too alone.

Some people like noise and can focus and concentrate even when they are surrounded by all kinds of sounds and activities. For me, that just wreaks havoc with my ADD. With every little sound, voice or music – especially music – I turn to look.

I’ve tried working in a coffee shop. There is something about the general noise level that makes any specific sound indistinguishable … but I still get distracted. 

I work best when there is no noise, nothing to distract me from what I’m working on.

With even the faintest sound of instruments or base beat, I find myself tapping my feet and getting lost in the melody or rhythm. 

So when COVID shut our office down, it was the perfect place for me to go to study. 

There were no taps on the door, no chatter in the foyer, no whirl of machines. It was silent. 

I liked it … at least for a while. 

Now I’m not so sure I like it being as quiet as it is. Even a mouse might be a welcomed sound.

I know that I still need things quiet when I study, but when the quiet goes on for too long, it can become a discouragement. 

Maybe there is a sense of quiet loneliness that creates a want for something, someone, anything to break the silence for a little while. 

The silence is so dominant that it has actually reversed its appeal. 

If the only thing you can hear is your own tinnitus, it’s too quiet.

I know that some people put on white noise to go to sleep … maybe I need some white noise in my day. 

I could turn on a fan in another room and let it oscillate back and forth. I’m just afraid that after an hour of that I might find myself trying to guess when the fan is moving from left to right or right to left. 

I once had an assistant in the office beside mine who studied best with music on in the background. That used to drive me nuts. 

I got him to turn it down when I studied, but he had a subwoofer that I swear sounded like it was touching the wall between us. All I could think of was boom … boom boom … boom … boom boom. 

I sometimes went to another room to study because I couldn’t concentrate.

I don’t want that noise, but maybe if I just knew there was some activity in the building it would be enough to give me a sense of being around others. 

I’m not sure what the answer is, but I’m going to have to start trying something.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes our quiet time can be so silent that we don’t hear from God.  You’ve probably experienced that at some point. You read the Bible, you pray and when you get up, there has only been a one-sided exchange of thoughts and words. It might not be that it is too quiet, it might be that you have not quieted your mind and heart enough to be able to receive anything from God. Find the right balance of quiet by clearing your mind of your agenda and purposefully listening for a respond or quiet impression that enters your senses. Once you’ve experienced it, you will want to create that kind of quiet every day. Listen for the Lord.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Do you need more or less quiet right now? What will you do about it? Leave your comments and questions below.

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