Silent Beauty, Beautiful Silence

That’s what I get to look at every single morning.  Yep, pretty much amazing!  Every morning when I wake up I am seriously blown away by the awesome-ness of a God who created such beauty.  My life has been so full of peace since I moved here and I believe a lot of it has to do with the fact that I am surrounded by two things: beauty and silence.  Living alone in such a beautiful place has really turned into a personal retreat for me.  I wake up every morning to this breath-taking beauty and in the silence cannot help but enter into conversation with the God who made such beauty.

I’ve been reflecting on these two elements of silence and beauty.  In our culture today, we are surrounded by so much noise that silence often makes us uncomfortable.  We have developed an aversion to it.  With ever-increasing technology where people can get a hold of us whenever and however they wish, we rarely take time to separate ourselves from the noise surrounding us.  Interiorly, silence can be frightening because it is in the silence that we are often led to face those things inside of us that are not pretty to look at.  John Paul II spoke of man “deafening himself with noise” and being “unable to be silent for fear of meeting himself, of feeling the emptiness that asks itself about meaning” (Orientale Lumen, 16).  Compare this aversion to silence with the typical reaction we have to beauty.  Beauty is attractive, draws us in, captivates us.  We have a natural inclination to beauty.  A gorgeous sunset, snow-capped mountain peak, Mozart concerto, or a baby’s smile all leave us longing for more.  

I find the link between silence and beauty to be profound.  Beauty calls for silence.  A beautiful mountain vista leaves the viewer speechless.  Speaking in the presence of great beauty somehow seems out of place.  At the same time, silence is necessary to notice and truly appreciate beauty in the first place.  Beauty is often bypassed because of a lack of silence.  Silence allows us to truly immerse ourselves in beauty.  I believe there is an integral connection between silence, beauty, and conversion.  It is in silence that we are able to encounter God, who is Beauty itself, and that is where our hearts experience true and lasting conversion.

During this Advent season and what all too often becomes a hectic time of year, I encourage you to make time for silence in your life.  Sit for awhile and in the silence contemplate the beauty of our God become man in the person of Baby Jesus.  You may not have the vast expanse of ocean to look at out your front window, but if you take a moment to be silent, you’ll be able to see the greatest beauty of all: a loving God who humbled Himself and became man for us!  Let your heart be captivated by that beauty!

Sarah Houde