Mark is married to Jo and is a 23 year old youth and schools worker based in South Cave (near Hull). Mark spent 4 years as a youth worker in Peterborough whilst studying for a degree in youth work & ministry with Oasis.
As I mentioned yesterday part of the retreat day I was on included some silent time which was a little odd.
I very rarely experience silence even now as I blog/plan a lesson I have music on in the background…the few occasions I turn off the music I hear my boiler in the background, I tap on the desk or I hear the occasional snippet of Alan Partridge yelling ‘Dan!’ as I receive a text.
Silence is a funny old thing…
In counseling the theory is that after you ask a question and the person responds you don’t move onto the next question immediately but you wait and in that time of silent the person being counseled will add something else and so on, usually getting to the root of the problem.
The fact is we don’t like silence.
Humans tend to find silence awkward and in our busy world silence is a rarity.
When conversation stops amongst friends we call it an awkward silence
A friend of mine described an evening out as ‘good but too many gaps‘…referring to times when conversation wasn’t flowing.
I wonder why it is we find being quiet so difficult….I wonder what it is that makes us being alone with our thoughts so odd and unusual.
Here’s a section from 1 Kings 19 in the bible to conclude my thoughts…
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.
And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
