Blaise Pascal, a 17th-century philosopher made the claim in Pensées that “all of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” While a bit aggressive- he has a case. We fill empty silences with words, long drives with music, blank walls with pictures, sadness with pills, waiting with scrolling, and honest questions with shallow answers. The noise of our self-imposed barriers is what drowns out the most precious and profound revelations. It’s no wonder that the birth of incarnate Jesus Christ occurred on a silent night.

Silence breeds intimacy and intimacy reflects truth. Intimacy is presenting our raw and naked souls before Love Himself. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “To love is to be vulnerable.” Vulnerability tenderly peels back the stiff mask that conceals our blemishes and blunders; stares into our tear-filled eyes says “I know” and loves us still. Stillness cracks open our souls just enough to seep in holy light, it is a pause to let the eternal gently kiss the present. With each breath, we quiet our hearts long enough to hear that still small voice.

Solitude shouldn’t be something that we run from, but rather a practice to embrace-perhaps solitude is the antidote for loneliness.

Solitude shouldn’t be something that we run from, but rather a practice to embrace-perhaps solitude is the antidote for loneliness. Henri Nouwen wrote that “It is in this solitude that we discover that being is more important than having and that we are worth more than the result of our efforts.” It’s coming face to face with the omnipresence of the most powerful, mysterious being in the universe. This reality should be the only reason we fear solitude- because the veil has been torn. We should tremble in awe that wretched beings like ourselves can kneel in the presence of God’s indescribable glory.
Often we think God wears camouflage- but maybe we are the ones hiding.

I heard it said that what if the reason that God uses silence to speak to our hearts is because that’s how close He is? We just need to be quiet enough to hear a whisper. Solitude gives you the space to hear the anguish of your own soul, to see the face of your deepest hopes, and truly experience your thoughts without distraction.

That my friends, is why silence is not quiet -and solitude is far from lonely.