The Gift of Quiet
Notice how quickly we fill the quiet. The car starts and the radio immediately comes on. When a moment of empty space appears and we reach for the phone. We have grown so accustomed to sound that silence can feel almost unbearable — and that discomfort is worth paying attention to.
In Chapter 3 of Choosing Presence, Jim Heaney draws a distinction worth holding onto. “Silence is the absence of sound,” he writes. “Stillness is not so much about the senses — lack of noise — as it is about heightened awareness and intention.” Silence, in other words, is the doorway; stillness is the room we enter. But we cannot access this room without first opening the door.
So why do we avoid silence? Jim is candid. He recalls Richard Rohr saying that most people don’t meditate “because we don’t like being alone with someone we don’t like.” When the noise stops, we finally hear ourselves — and that can feel threatening. Yet quiet is precisely where God waits. As John Breck writes, “Only inner stillness enables us truly to listen to God…and to commune [with God] in the depths of our being.”
Our fear fades with practice. This week, let the quiet be a gift rather than a threat. Turn off the radio and put down the phone. Let the silence open into stillness — and listen for the One who has been speaking there all along.
Brian Mueller – Poet, Community Organizer, and Spiritual Guide
Brian Mueller is a poet and community organizer based in Dayton, Ohio. He serves as Director of Education & Engagement for ChoosingPresence.org and is an active member of the Ohio Chapter of Illuman, where he co-leads writing retreats that support men’s spiritual journeys. As a writer, Brian is known for his candid, accessible poetry, with works including Cock‑A‑Doodle‑Doo: 100 Morning Haiku, the Poem of the Day series, and the Bull Series. Inspired by poets like Rumi and Mary Oliver, he believes everyone carries the voice of a poet within.
