“Today, the degradation of the inner life is symbolized by the fact that the only place sacred from interruption is the private toilet.”

— Lewis Mumford

Does this sound familiar?  It does to me; although, as the mother of seven children, I would add that even the bathroom door can be beaten on or whispered through by intruders.  Everywhere we turn there are intrusions, and they are not all human.  Electronic devices have enhanced our lives in many ways, but they have become so omnipresent that it is truly difficult to find a quiet space to simply be.  We take in an overwhelming amount of information from the internet, the television, the radio, the cellphone — ads, news, text messages; yet we have no time to sit alone and process all that has bombarded us.

When we were very noisy as children, my mother would say, “I can’t hear myself think!”  In those days, the solution was simple — send the children outside to play and reclaim your silence.  The challenge in the 21st century is greater than in was in the 1950’s.  It takes a great deal of self-discipline to turn off the noise, especially if we share our living space with others who love all the input and feel uncomfortable when it all shuts down.

We become so enmeshed in the outside world that bombards us non-stop that it is easy to forget that we have a mind and a soul that need to be heard, that need to be attended to and exercised and listened to.  It takes self-discipline to find that space in a world where the bathroom has become our only refuge; but it can be done.  Be creative — turn off the noise, get up a half-hour before the family, find a quiet corner.  Take time to listen to the voice from within.  You will discover you have a lot to say.