Silence
I crave silence.
The desert is the only place where I have found true silence. The kind that is so deep and so complete it feels almost tangible. It wraps around you like a blanket. You can feel its weight as it settles over you—enveloping you, comforting you, creating the space your mind and soul have been longing for after the constant bombardment of noise in our modern world.
I close my eyes, and for what feels like an eternity, nothing interrupts the stillness. Then, perhaps, comes the occasional squawk of a raven. Not exactly a romantic sound, but in the vastness of the canyons, it is a reminder that life exists even in this harsh and unforgiving landscape.
Silence has a way of revealing what is worth listening to. It quiets everything else long enough for me to hear my own thoughts—the ones that have been drowned out by the busyness of everyday life.
At home, I try to meditate, but there is always something humming, buzzing, or demanding attention. Traffic in the distance. The refrigerator. My beloved pebble ice machine that I can't imagine living without. Every sound competes for space.
We have become a culture that is uncomfortable with silence. We fill every empty moment with podcasts, music, movies, news, social media, or endless scrolling. Something is almost always playing. And if technology isn't making the noise, life is. In our house, our one son somehow manages to make it feel louder than when all seven of our children were home. There is the steady hum of appliances, conversations drifting through the rooms, or even the relentless wind outside that seems determined never to stop.
Eventually, it becomes too much.
I reach a point where I can't absorb one more sound. My mind feels saturated. My soul feels crowded. I don't want another song, another notification, another voice.
I just want silence.
Deep, complete silence. The kind where, if you sit still long enough, you can hear your own heartbeat. The kind that doesn't feel empty but full—full of peace, clarity, and room to simply exist.
That kind of silence restores me. It brings everything back to neutral. It quiets the static inside me and gently realigns my soul.
When was the last time you allowed yourself to be completely immersed in silence?
