“Our world no longer hears God because it is constantly speaking, at a devastating speed and volume, in order to say nothing. Modern civilisation does not know how to be quiet. It holds forth in an unending monologue. Postmodern society rejects the past and looks at the present as a cheap consumer object; it pictures the future in terms of an almost obsessive progress. Its dream, which has become a sad reality, will have been to lock silence away in a damp, dark dungeon. Thus there is a dictatorship of speech, a dictatorship of verbal emphasis. In this theatre of shadows, nothing is left but a purulent wound of mechanical words, without perspective, without truth, and without foundation.”

(Cardinal Robert Sarah – ‘The Power of Silence’ 74)

Much of modern life is very cacophonific! Is it a word? I found cacophonic in the dictionary as the adjective of cacophony…but I prefer it with an ‘ific’ on the end – it lends itself more to the horribly dramatic, like horrific!

Pope Benedict XVI would often talk of the dictatorship of relativism. Possibly emerging from this and far more insidious is the dictatorship of noise.

I blame electricity! A band I used to like in the early 80’s, OMD…part of the post punk keyboard dominated sound, who created some lovely haunting melodies, had a single called ‘Electricity.’ It’s lyrics began…

Our one source of energy
The ultimate discovery
Electric blue for me
Never more to be free

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark ‘Electricity’

Have we been enslaved by it? It certainly dominates every aspect of our lives today.

My bathroom extractor fan is horrific! It makes a rattling groaning sound whereas in my old bathroom this would be replaced by simply opening the window and letting in some fresh air. All this extra noise has assumed the status of normality.

Man made noise is everywhere. I turned on my phone this morning. It made a noise at me to tell me it was turning itself on. That is the default position of the phone which is awkward to remove. This is old technology too…my trusty ‘dumb phone’…I am sure that a regular smart phone will play the full 1812 overture on waking up…that if you ever do the unusual thing of turning it off! There is a full array of artificial noises crying out for our attention. If you find yourself on a mountain top without your smart phone you could still have a plane or two flying over your head. Seeking out these places of quiet, though, is a good thing because they can point to the stillness within which many of us still seek. A place to digest and reflect on all that happens.

A recent short car trip to the garden centre, on getting in to the car, my traveling companion turned the radio on straight away. I instantly jolted from the blaring sound.Trying to be charitable I turned it down, rather than off, after the initial shock. It amazes me how many people require ‘background noise’ in their lives. It is not about turning on the radio or TV to watch something specific, it is about just having it on.

It’s been a good few years now that I have had no sounds on in the car whilst driving. It started with realizing how depressing it was listening to ‘Morning Ireland’ on RTE radio 1 on the way to work every day. I think I felt it gave me something to talk about and that I would be on top of ‘current events.’ I eventually realized that this in no way empowered me to make any changes in my life or make things better in the world. So I switched to music in the mornings on my way to work, until my love of silence grew. How did this come about? I think it stemmed from a job I had that I had an hours drive to. Doing a lot of therapy at the time, I used to give vent to all my emotions…I would shout, scream, but mostly cry. I would describe out loud all the things that I was passing on the road to keep me in the present moment. Until there was nothing left but me, my pain and God. Now, any noise is an intrusion into the stillness which I find beautiful and refreshing.

In a monastery you have the cloister. It is the inner sanctum of the place. It is where silence and prayer reign supreme. It is where the world of noise is left behind. And the inner sanctum has its own inner sanctum, the cloister garth. The cloister garth (or garden) reflects the beauty of God’s creation, but within stillness. High walls are a sound barrier which keep out the outside noises, so you can rest with the inner peace. It is a chance to engage with stillness and beauty – engaging with the great positivity of silence with which noise interferes.

You could call it ‘escapism’ and there is some of that involved in seeking silence. But who would not want to avoid all those artificial noises that keep us from ourselves and God? Maybe there is more escapism in turning up the volume on our man-made noises that help us avoid facing ourselves and God? But most of us still have the desire to seek it in some shape or form. The merry-go-round at the fun fair is indeed fun but there is relief in getting off and feeling yourself on solid ground again. The need to be ‘grounded’ is indeed a necessary place to be in order to make sense of our lives.

We all need to create our own cloister garth somewhere – be it our garden or favourite walk. Somewhere where we can reach that stillness of heart – where total trust in God is experienced. Away, for however long it takes, from this cacaphonific world.