The soul needs silence and stillness.  It is when we are doing nothing that our brains and souls do some of their most important somethings.  We can find these moments when we are doing a quiet little something or really and truly nothing at all.

It is in the quiet and stillness that our brains do their sorting, organizing, tidying, and connection-making.

It is in the quiet and stillness that the wise voice in our soul gets a chance to lead, direct and put in order the committee, the council, in our soul.

It is in the quiet and the stillness that we are most likely to hear the still small voice of the One who made us.

It is in this space and in these times when the wounds in our soul get a chance to breathe – and to heal.

Scientists estimate that homo sapiens have been walking this earth for roughly 200,000 years.  The vast majority of humans that have come before us have spent large parts of their life in silence and stillness – doing a quiet task, searching for food or water in the forests or grasslands, watching the rain fall, or listening to the quiet sound of snow as it blankets the ground.

This is the life rhythm that we developed in and for.  This is the world, the life, we are wired for.

It has only been in the last 100 years (the last 0.05% of our existence) that the ceaseless noise and hustle and bustle of modern life has even been possible.  As progress marches on, it leaves less and less space for the things our souls crave.

You may remember from science class that frogs and other amphibians live their lives both in water and on land.  Even after they develop their ability to live on land, their need for water never goes away.  In fact, if they get too dried out they can’t breathe, they suffocate, suffer from carbon dioxide poisoning and die.

I think people are like that when it comes to our need for silence and stillness.  We don’t need it all the time, but we do need it – more than we realize.  When we don’t have enough of it, our souls can’t breathe, we begin to suffocate, and toxins build up in our soul.

These days there is always something loud and shiny calling out for your attention.  The TV never runs out of “breaking news” communicated in urgent tones, nor is there any limit to the world of images and sounds created to delight and entertain you at the touch of a button.

But is it what your soul needs?  Is this the rhythm and the life you were wired for?  Do you allow your children to get bored and treat it like it’s a good thing?  When was the last time you dove into doing nothing – or even a quiet little something – like a frog diving into a pond?

I hope you find what your soul needs today.