Quiet Time

Today’s world is already too noisy – and becoming noisier still. If we stop and listen intently, even at a most quiet moment we can still hear a whirr – somewhere there’s machine or motor running, whose sound is loud enough to get carried by the blows of wind. If not that, there’s someone in the next block working manually, either hammering or sawing or doing the various jobs of the world.

At the same time, there’s the human sound of the neighborhood – the sighs, the laughter, the chitchats of everybody. Even the hushed gossips being passed around ultimately make their way to the bulk of the surrounding noise. And it’s true that even the secrets shared in silence still contribute to the escalating noise levels, as well.

The noise that bombards us day after day is not only aural or sound – but also visual and mental. The exploding population alone already brings on a corresponding noise, actual aural noise. And the great number of people also increases people’s feeling of anonymity – people begin to feel like they can get away with their mischiefs because they won’t be noticed individually amid their great numbers.

Where their wrongdoings are noticed, some people would dismiss criticisms, saying they are not the only ones doing it anyway.  As if morality is a matter of popularity; that a wrong thing becomes right when done by many.  But such defense is a lie – even those that use it don’t believe it.

The one thing that rampant wrongdoings do for sure is add to the noise.  A transgression committed doesn’t have to make a sound for it to contribute to the overall noise that the present humanity suffers from. The sure noise it creates in people – both in the doers and the observers – is mental.

The observers’ sensibility is disturbed in watching others do the wrong thing and get away with it. The offenders get hounded by their conscience. Even hardened criminals have a moment when things come clear to them and they realize they have let themselves down. The realization may not manifest right away as a change in their characters, but instantly a wrongdoing eats away at the doers’ self-concept.

Both feelings of indignation and self-contempt are emotional noises. To try to hide these negative emotions, which are required for the sake of social graces, people have to create layers of pretenses, new layers that only add to the original noise they are supposed to cover. As these covers pile up, the person eventually becomes numb – his concept of right and wrong blurs.

One who does not stand for anything does not care anymore.  At that point, the person starts to give himself away. At that point, he lets go of his last anchor.  One who does not value himself will not value others, definitely.

And that is not so only with offenders. Righteous people who get frequently exposed to wrongdoings, either as mere observers or aggrieved victims, eventually go the same path. And to think that such final damnation simply started from unguarded exposure to noise.

There is, fortunately, an antidote to the ravages of world noise. Quiet time. One may momentarily shut off from the external world and go into his world within. He may take the few moments “to re-call himself,” by asking his God to make him ‘re-member’ – to bring him back to the divine plan of which he is an important part.