Who Will Cry When You Die\?: Life Lessons From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari pdfdrive com

16.
Learn to Be Silent
William Wordsworth sagely observed, “When from our better selves we have
too long been parted by the hurrying world, sick of its business, of its pleasures
tired, how gracious, how benign is solitude.” When was the last time you made
the time to be silent and still? When was the last time you carved out a chunk of
time to enjoy the power of solitude to restore, refocus and revitalize your mind,
body and spirit?
All of the great wisdom traditions of the world have arrived at the same
conclusion: to reconnect with who you really are as a person and to come to
know the glory that rests within you, you must find the time to be silent on a
regular basis. Sure, you are busy. But as Thoreau said: “It is not enough to be
busy, so are the ants. The question is what are you so busy about?”
The importance of silence makes me think about the story of an old
lighthouse keeper. The man had only a limited amount of oil to keep his beacon
lit so that passing ships could avoid the rocky shore. One night, a man who lived
close by needed to borrow some of this precious commodity to light his home,
so the lighthouse keeper gave him some of his own. Another night, a traveler
begged for some oil to light his lamp so he could keep on traveling. The
lighthouse keeper also complied with this request and gave him the amount he
needed. The next night, the lighthouse keeper was awakened by a mother
banging on his door. She prayed for some oil so that she could illuminate her
home and feed her family. Again he agreed. Soon all his oil was gone and his
beacon went out. Many ships ran aground and many lives were lost because the
lighthouse keeper forgot to focus on his priority. He neglected his primary duty
and paid a high price. Experiencing solitude, for even a few minutes a day, will
keep you centered on your highest life priorities and help you avoid the neglect
that pervades the lives of so many of us.
And saying that you don’t have enough time to be silent on a regular basis
is a lot like saying you are too busy driving to stop for gas—eventually it will
catch up with you.

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