Susan Cain’s book Quiet “…focuses on introverts, making the case that they have a kind of intellectual advantage. And their edge stems largely from greater amounts of solitude, from the degree to which they’ve swapped motion for stillness, chatter for calm. They’ve carved out space for reflection that’s sustained and deep. This isn’t necessarily a matter of being unplugged, of ditching the hyper-connectedness of our digital lives. It’s a matter of ditching and silencing the crowd.” Frank Bruni

“Cathererine de Haeck Doherty writes, ‘All in me is silent and … I am immersed in the silence of God.’ It is in solitude that we come to experience the ‘silence of God’ and so receive the inner silence that is the craving of our hearts.” Richard Foster

“There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on His Word spiritual strength for labour in his service. We ought to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nutriment out of them….” Charles Spurgeon

“This solitude confirms my call to solitude. The more I am in it, the more I love it. One day it will possess me entirely and no man will ever see me again.” Thomas Merton

“It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young.
Let him sit alone in silence,
for the Lord has laid it on him.
Let him bury his face in the dust—
there may yet be hope.”
Lamentations 3:27-29

Moving From the Head to the Heart

• Are you more comfortable with motion or stillness?  with chatter or with calm?
• Do you make it a point to carve out space “for reflection that’s sustained and deep?”
• Have you come to the point where you realize the value of “ditching and silencing the crowd?”
• Does your heart long for the experience of the “silence of God” that Foster mentions? Think about your answer and what it might mean.

Abba, help us, whether we’re introverts or extroverts, to learn to spend time being with you, and to position ourselves to be transformed by you.

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For More: Quiet by Susan Cain

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These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek after God and he seeks after you. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it. My goal is to share something of unique value with you daily in 400 words or less. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

“I practice daily what I believe; everything else is religious talk.”