Sunday, July 15, 2007

Drowning Out The Noise

As I was driving today, I noticed that I was driving right next to a train and didn’t even hear it. The radio in my car wasn’t blaring, but it was enough to cover up the sounds of the train. As I thought about this, I saw some similarities between drowning out the noise of life and living in a cocoon, protected from the burdens in other people’s lives.

I think I was more acutely aware of this today because last night I read a chapter in The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan that talked about paying attention to the details of life. Buchanan encourages readers to restore Sabbath, and one of the practices that he describes to experience Sabbath rest is to stop to find what’s missing. He urges readers, “See it all. Like Adam, name it.”

God’s creation inspires me, but I often don’t let it. I can’t hear the birds singing in the morning because I’ve got the radio on while I’m getting ready for work. I don’t hear the children in the neighborhood playing in the evenings because I have the television on. I can’t hear the locusts at night because I turn on a sound conditioner to cover up the endless barking of the next-door neighbor’s dog. And by drowning out God’s creation, I’m often removing the opportunity to hear from God.

All of the man-made sounds that I’m replacing God’s sounds with are merely imitations. These imitations keep me distracted. And by staying distracted, I don’t have to deal with things in my life, like the emptiness that comes from unmet desires. But counterfeit imitations only suffice for so long. And then I crave the real thing.

Tonight, now that I’m out of the cocoon, I’m looking forward to spending time with a family who is going through a difficult time after the father was injured in a fall last week. And now that I’ve had it with artificial sounds for a while, I’m looking forward to the real sounds of a Texas summer night.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You sure hit the nail on the head! I see myself in your observation! Vicki

Alyssa said...

V - Thanks for the comment; I'm glad that resonated with you!

Anonymous said...

Hey Alyssa! I was trying to clean out my emails and came across yours and am finally getting around to checking out your blog! Very cool! I always knew you had a talent for writing but I didn't know how much of one you really have! Good for you and very exciting! :) I have read several but will have to come back another time to read the rest... And I have to say that I would love to turn off all those man-made noises out there but when I do all I can hear are my ears ringing! so annoying, especially when you are out in nature and you want to hear the wind in the trees or the trickle of a spring or just the calm and quiet of the remote destination. Anyway, I can definitely understand your message and as I type I sit in a silent room...through the ringing I can hear the cars in traffic on 75 the dog barking outside and the clocks ticking on the wall....not bad through all the ringing! lol

I miss community group and hope all is well!

Stephanie

Alyssa said...

S - Thanks so much for stopping by and for your sweet compliment! We miss you too!