July 3, 2026

Carving Out Silence

            I was in a Starbucks a while back.  Normally, actually not all that often, if I stop at a Starbucks it is just to order a drink and then to go.  On this particular occasion, I had some time to pass while waiting for someone who was in a medical appointment.  So, I settled in on one of the stools near the window.

            It was an interesting time of observation.  Other people, of course, came and went as I usually did.  But some also settled in.  People were working on laptops.  One person was reading a book.  Music was playing too, amidst the sounds of words of welcome and of orders being placed.  It seemed rather chaotic to me.

            And yet, people were working.  People were seemingly finding peace in the midst of that chaos.  And that has always been quite amazing to me.  For I have tended to seek solace in the quiet, in solitude.  In fact, working in a noisy environment has been next to impossible. 

            But then I remember one of the teachings, one of the methods that I learned in a class on meditation many years ago.  The priest who taught the class called it “being in the eye of the hurricane.”  What he meant by that was that as we sat in mediation, rather than focusing on our breathing or a mantra, we should pay attention to all of the noise that was going on around us.  We were to experience the calm at “the eye of the storm,” while acknowledging the chaos around us.  And, in truth, that was always an effective meditation practice for me.

            So, I have slowly gotten better at working, being, in the midst of noise and chaos.  I acknowledge the sights and sounds, but then I focus my attention on whatever it is that I am working on.  It doesn’t work perfectly for me, but it is better than it used to be.  And, when we realize that most often the noise and chaos of the world does continue to go on around us, it is important to be able to find that peaceful center in ourselves in the midst of it.

            The world around us will not change.  But we can adapt, and in so doing we can indeed be in touch with that peace that God offers to us.