QUIETNESS (MARCH 18)

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"True silence is the rest of the mind and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment" (William Penn).

OUR NEED FOR QUIETNESS SEEMS TO INCREASE WITH EACH PASSING DAY. It’s a loud world we live in, in more ways than one, and we can’t endure loudness without some moments of relief. Torturers have always known that it’s possible to drive a human being insane by subjecting him to incessant noise, even if it’s no more than the dripping of water. We have an irrevocable need for quiet: our minds and hearts need stillness and silence to rest. And not only that, they need these things to grow. “I cannot be the man I should be without times of quietness. Stillness is an essential part of growing deeper as we grow older” (Charles R. Swindoll).

Our need for quietness, however, shouldn’t send us into the woods or up to the mountaintop to live apart from any other human beings. Quietness, like physical sleep, is a necessity now and then, but it’s not the ultimate goal of life, and we can’t allow our enjoyment of things like meditation to detract from our responsibilities to other people. As Morton Kelsey suggests, “What we do with our lives outwardly, how well we care for others, is as much a part of meditation as what we do in quietness and turning inward.”

Yet there’s no denying that we need more quietness than we usually attain in these days of urgent activity. The busier our lives become, the more discipline it takes to eke out times of solitude and serenity. Merely confessing that quietness is a virtue would be a step in the right direction, putting us on the path to greater joy. We’re too quick to dismiss ideals like quietness and simplicity as being obsolete, and we need to start appreciating their goodness once more. “Happiness is the harvest of a quiet eye” (Austin O’Malley).

Quietness is an aspect of maturity — physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. Both the perception of its value and the discipline of its practice require personal growth. And like most forms of positive growth, quietness calls for commitment.

If only I may grow
firmer,
simpler,
quieter,
warmer.
(Dag Hammarskjöld)

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

ADVICE (MARCH 17)

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"Four eyes see better than two" (Old Saying).

IT’S A FOOLISH PERSON INDEED WHO DOESN’T APPRECIATE THE VALUE OF ADVICE. When we’re faced with a decision-making situation, none of us can see everything that would be profitable to see. We need the supplementary vision that comes from other eyes, and to the extent that we let our viewpoint be enlarged and improved by other people’s perspectives, our decisions will turn out better.

There are some, no doubt, who go to the opposite extreme, taking the advice of everyone they meet, regardless of whether the advice is good, bad, or mediocre. But the person who takes everyone’s advice is just as foolish as the person who doesn’t take anybody’s. At some point, we have to take responsibility for our own choices. We should heed good advice and disregard that which is not so good — and then we must make our decisions independently.

But therein lies the trick! If we could always tell the difference between good and bad advice, we probably wouldn’t need any advice. As Wilson Mizner said, “To profit from good advice requires more wisdom than to give it.” So, we need to grow in wisdom — the wisdom required to recognize and act on good advice.

Our most common mistake is disregarding advice that conflicts with our preferences and preconceived ideas. Whoever agrees with our preferred course of action is “wise,” and his advice is “good,” while the fellow who warns us we’re on the wrong track is usually written off as someone who “just doesn’t understand.”

But sometimes the best advice is the most uncomfortable. And not only that, but the best advice may come from unwelcome sources, perhaps even our enemies. Yet if we know what’s good for us, we’ll learn to profit from helpful advice, regardless of where it comes from or how little we may want to hear it.

In my experience, the best advice usually has to be sought. We must actively look for it; it doesn’t usually look for us. Because they desire to be courteous, many of our friends won’t speak frankly about our circumstances unless we ask them to. And as we all know, asking for advice can be embarrassing. But if we stay silent when we need help, we only hurt ourselves in the long run.

"I not only use all the brains I have but all I can borrow" (Woodrow Wilson).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

PONDERING (MARCH 16)

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"First ponder, then dare" (Helmuth von Moltke).

IT’S TRUE THAT MOST OF US NEED TO BE MORE ADVENTURESOME, BUT IT’S ALSO TRUE THAT WE NEED TO PONDER OUR DEEDS BEFORE WE DO THEM. As von Moltke says, the correct order of action is “First ponder, then dare.” And the more consequential the dare, the more profound should be the pondering that precedes it.

“Ponder” comes from the Latin pondus (“weight”). It means to consider something carefully. When we ponder, we “weigh” an idea in our minds, thinking how significant it is or, if the thought is one of action, what its outcome might be. Pondering is more than casual thinking — it is thinking with care and thoroughness.

There is no better way to build credibility than to be a person who ponders things. Living impulsively is not the way to become trustworthy. In fact, we shouldn’t have much credibility if we don’t consider things carefully. If we’re known to act rashly, we’ll not be the people our friends turn to in times of need or difficulty. Our carelessness will keep us from being as trusted as we’d like to be.

The notion that ideas can be “weighed” in our minds ought to be of more than passing interest. Contrary to what many seem to think nowadays, not all ideas are equal and interchangeable. Some have more weight than others; that is, some are more true, significant, beneficial, beautiful, and so forth. The challenge in thinking is to discern, by pondering them, which ideas are weighty and which are not. When we’re making decisions, we need to let the weighty ideas count for more and pay less attention to the lighter-weight trivia. And the same principle applies when we’re weighing our words: we should choose wisely between words that are good, better, and best.

Being a person who ponders things may sound pretty dull, as if that person never did anything but think. But the truth is, life is never dull when we’re in a receptive state of mind. Those who take the time to ponder the world and its happenings often find that surprises break into their reveries. When we meditate wisely, we’re not merely passing time; we’re preparing for a breakthrough. Pondering opens our hearts and minds to happy discoveries!

"I keep the subject constantly before me, and wait till the first dawnings open slowly, by little and little, into a full and clear light" (Isaac Newton).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com