The title of a recent Harvard Business Review article says much: “The Busier You Are, the More You Need Quiet Time.” While this is hardly a new idea, it’s one that seems to need repeating in our tech-driven, overscheduled age.
When we’re constantly fixated on the verbal agenda—what to say next, what to write next, what to tweet next—it’s tough to make room for truly different perspectives or radically new ideas. It’s hard to drop into deeper modes of listening and attention. And it’s in those deeper modes of attention that truly novel ideas are found.
Being a business article, the focus on novel ideas as the goal is hardly surprising. But those of us who think spiritually will also recognize the need for listening and attention to God’s voice as their own goals. The article suggests four ways for busy people to practice being quiet, all of which have parallels to the spiritual life, starting with “Punctuate meetings with five minutes of quiet time.”
Taking breaks for silence makes sense to these bloggers too:
- Breathing in the Silence by Becky Eldredge
- The Gift of Silence in the Morning by Shemaiah Gonzalez
- Three Ways to Cultivate a Retreat State of Mind by Rebecca Ruiz
- The Power of Silent Prayer by Jurell Sison
I love all these artcles about Ignatian Spiritually.
They elp me a lot with everything I do. Thank you
A call to get beyond the noise. I find that when I am too stretched mentally then I become ill physically. That’s a sign. Prayer helps. And so does going for a walk.