Finding Peace in the Noise
“Go placidly amidst the noise and haste”
The annoying noises started before daylight this morning on a busy street in Washington, DC. They broke the silence of my peaceful night’s slumber. Once they started, they never seemed to stop. They only grew louder as new noises joined the older noises creating a symphony of negative sounds seemingly meant to interrupt not only my sleep, but to confuse and confound my start of the day.
The Desiderata is one of my favorite passages of wisdom. One of the lines from that work came to my mind this morning: “go placidly amidst the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence”. Finding peace and silence amid the noise of a bustling city is hard to do. But if my day is to become successful, I must find a way to tune out the noise while harboring silence and peace within my soul.
God gives us the unique spiritual tools to drown out the noises and distractions of life as we cling to his peace. Even in the midst of noise, we can find a way to commune with Him and bring clarity to the tasks and opportunities of the day.
Finding peace in the noises of life must be done with practice, patience, prayer and purpose. Sometimes the noise of life isn’t just the sounds of the street but the distractions of earthly circumstances that steal our attention away from our real mission of life. Distractions can be physical ailment, financial limitation or limits to our freedom. We can still find peace in these situations and prevail over the noise of bad circumstances.
Christ spoke of a peace ‘that passes understanding’. Building trust and reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit unlocks the power to triumph over the noises of life. Peace in the midst of noise is the sweetest peace. It means we have conquered the trivia of the moment and can always transcend to a place of perfect peace. So let the horns blow, the sirens blare and the voices scream – I am off to a placid and peaceful day!