“Go placidly amidst the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence.”
~Desiderata by Max Ehrmann
Amidst the Noise and Haste
Several years ago, I bought a box of Christmas cards with this line printed on the front. I liked it so much that I framed one of the cards and hung it in one of my bathrooms, where it still hangs today. I later discovered that the line was from the poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann.
I often think of this line when I find myself in a crowed store brightly decorated for the holiday and full of people noisily shopping and in an anxious hurry to get finished and go on to ‘the next thing’ (whatever that may be). Amid the chatter of hundreds of conversations, the squeak of carts, the clatter of items being loaded and unloaded, the rustle of plastic bags, the beep of scanners, the scolding of children, and the faint hum of Christmas music, I will often remind myself to slow down and ‘remember what peace there may be in silence’. While this may not be the author’s intended meaning of this phrase, and while I may not be able to silence a store full of people, it reminds me to silence the chaotic clanging of my own hurried heart. Often the incessant clambering in my own head is louder than the noise around me. Most of the time my thoughts are running ahead, and I am on to ‘the next thing’ long before my body gets there. This phrase reminds me to ‘go placidly’; to calm the inner clammer of my heart and slow both my body and my mind; to live peacefully in the moment.
The Sight of Inner Silence
When I silence my own mind to the constant clammer and demands of ‘the next thing’ and the long running ‘to do’ list in my head, the world around me suddenly comes into focus. I actually ‘see’ the baby girl with sleepy eyes crying in the cart beside me. She wants her mother to hold her, and my heart is compassionate – rather than annoyed – for both the baby and the hurried mother who is trying to corral two other children and finish her shopping with a sleepy baby now on her hip. I ‘see’ the elderly woman in an electric cart, carefully checking the prices on the various sized bags of pecans. Since the taller shelf is out of her reach, I offer to read the prices and ounces for her and hand her the bag she has chosen. As I leave the store, I ‘see’ the Salvation Army bell ringer, a sweetly smiling lady with grey hair and young eyes set in an aging face who rings with enthusiasm. I have no cash, but I offer her a smile and a “Merry Christmas” as I leave.
As I drive out of the parking lot, I ‘see’ the large man with boxes taped to his feet for shoes. I have seen him wandering this parking lot before and I’ve noticed that his thin grey hair hangs beneath the hem of his coat – well below his waist. How many years has it been since he’s had a haircut? Is that by choice? I frantically look through the groceries I have just purchased to see if there is anything I can offer him, but there isn’t anything that he could eat without cooking. I could go back and buy him a burger, but in my haste to get home, I don’t. I pray for him and any family that he may have somewhere, feeling the inadequacy of my prayers without action.
Remembering Peace
On another day, I step out into the cold of early morning and the silence of a winter morning seems to wrap itself around me. A thumbnail moon brings a brilliant light to the cold winter sky and a red dawn begins to rise in the east. The silence of winter envelopes me and peace settles on my heart like a blanket, and I am again reminded of the phrase, “remember what peace there may be in silence.”
Peace. The word suggests silence, harmony, and a general sense of goodwill and it is easy to feel at peace on a quiet winter morning in the country. However, peace can come amid clamor and stress, it can fall on us during heartache and loss, it can displace anxiety, and peace can even be present in disappointments and disagreements. Peace can be with us because God is with us. Paul, Peter, and the writer of Hebrews all use the phrase, “God of peace.” He brings peace because he is peace, and He is with us.
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and they shall call his name, Immanuel”, which is translated, “God with us.”
(Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22 & 23)
The God of Peace is With us
Immanuel. God with us! The God of all peace is with us! We should pause and ponder what that means. God with us! We should let it soak deep into our hearts. Peace. We carry it with us. And peace can be present there with the crying baby, the elderly woman, the bell ringer, and the destitute man because God is present there.
So, as the holiday season draws to a climax and the holiday celebrations begin, “go placidly amidst the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence.” And may “the God of peace be with you all.” ~ Romans 15:33.