There just might be something necessary in having “quiet time” in our lives.  I have believed this for some time now, and I find myself craving it more and more as I get older.  It reminds me of a conversation I had with a teacher in a high school many years ago.  I was about to do a presentation and we were just chatting beforehand.  She told me about a practice she had started with her students at the beginning of that year.  At the opening of each class that first day, she had introduced a period of silence in which the students could think or not think or just sit if they wanted.  However, they were not allowed “do” anything.  There would be no disruptions and no talking or communication of any kind.

They balked at the idea, but she insisted.  So everyday, the students would come in and sit down and not say a word.  I think she said it was for five minutes. That seems like a very long time when one is not used to it.  Soon, it became automatic, and that “quiet time” became a naturally occurring part of each lesson.

One day, she started her class without it.  And what a surprise she received from her students!  They were very upset and disturbed by this change and complained openly.  What she discovered was at first shocking, but then deeply satisfying.  They had come to crave those precious moments of peace in their day.  It was a revelation.  And this concept found a welcome place in my mind.

As time has gone on, I have found articles and seen videos regarding the use of creating empty space in our minds.  There is something going on in this inactive state, whether it be prayer or meditation of some kind.  But it seems that beyond this silence, there is a yearning.  I believe that it is, in fact, a need we have as human beings.  Getting in touch with ourselves through silence is perhaps the path to finding out who we truly are.  Don’t you think that it is a discovery worth knowing?