Be Still

“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”(Psalm 46:10)

I read about an interesting social experiment that was conducted in 2007 by a writer at the Washington Post. At a Metro subway station in Washington, D.C., on a cold January morning, a man with a violin played 6 Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. He was casually dressed and wearing a baseball cap. Hundreds of people passed by while he played, hurrying on their way to work or other obligations.
After several minutes, a 3 year-old boy stopped to listen, but his mother impatiently tugged him along. Several other children did the same thing, but every parent — without exception — forced their children quickly along. One woman threw a dollar bill in his open violin case but never stopped to listen. In all, about 20 people gave money — about $32 in all — but kept on walking at their normal pace.
During 45 minutes of continuous playing, only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. Interviewed later, most people would say they didn’t even notice that someone had been playing the violin. When he finished, no one noticed or applauded. There was no recognition at all.
Here’s the irony: The violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. Just 2 nights before, he had played in a sold-out Boston theater where concertgoers paid an average of $100 a seat to listen as he played the very same music. In the subway, passers by threw their loose change into the case of his violin, an instrument worth $3.5 million.
How often do you hurry through life without taking time to notice the beauty of life around you? From the moment your alarm wakes you each morning to the instant your tired head hits the pillow at night, the day is full of noise — cell phones, talk radio, hurried conversations, instant messages, popular music, television, social media. All with the potential to crowd out the “still, small voice” that whispers to us: Come away to a quiet place. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Be still, and in your stillness, you will come to know that I am God.

DENYING TODAY
For some of us, busyness props up our own self-importance. When is the last time you just sat still, in silence? Try it now. For just 5 minutes, be still. (I think it was Mr. Miyagi, in The Karate Kid, who wisely said, “Being still and doing nothing are two very different things.”) This week, turn off the radio. Silence your phone. Shut down your machines for a chunk of time each evening. Give yourself the gift of stillness.