I love to take walks. I especially enjoy walks where I get in touch with the natural environment. Nature has much to reveal to me. The sights, sounds, smells, touch and sometimes the tastes draw me deeper into reflection, to understand myself, others and life’s situations.
To allow myself into that pensive space, I have a preference for taking a walk in places away from urban environments, where I cannot see skyscrapers, where I cannot hear the construction of buildings, where I cannot smell car exhaust. I find these such a distraction. Living and staying in a highly urbanized city, I desire just a few hours of quietness, away from the hustle and bustle. I only wanted to see majestic trees or beautiful flowers, hear the burble of a stream, smell the petrichor air of a forest.
However, a recent walk at a nature reserve in the middle of the city shed new insights.
I was on a walking path of the nature reserve, flanked by trees and shrubs on both sides. To the left was the forest. To the right ran a motor highway, just slightly beyond some sparsely populated trees. I could not see the road or cars, but I could hear, to my annoyance, the traffic, the incessant roaring of cars speeding down the highway. In the distance, I could hear sounds of construction works, either road repairs or piles being bored into the ground. I was in a nature reserve, but these loud urban noises were right in my ears!
In the moment of my irritation, I heard tweeting birds on my left, somewhere in the forest. This was followed by crickets chirping, a rustling of leaves in the gentle wind and a squirrel scurrying up a tree! These sounds were not loud, but very distinct, clear and crisp. One would not have been able to ignore it despite the sound of traffic.
This path went on for a short distance. I heard the urban noises but listened to the sounds of nature. And as I paid attention to the sounds of nature, the urban noises seemed to fade. I could still hear the cars, but they did not frustrate me. My heart softened. I relished the tranquility amidst the noise. I enjoyed the company of nature even though city life was just a stone’s throw away. I found myself even though stressful situations were just a short distance away.
It dawned upon me that while my intention to be away from the busyness of the city was good, I was fixated on blocking it out entirely. The reality is that we are living in a world with many noises: opinions, falsehood, fake news, etc. These are distracting and sometimes difficult to filter out. The invitation is to listen out and identify the truths of life and what is life-giving amidst the noise. We may be surprised to find that these truths could have been very close by all along. They also could have been conspicuous all the while, only that we are not aware of them.
Looking through the lens of faith, we live in a noisy world that we cannot run away from. We are not called to run away from the world anyway. Yet, we are not called to be of the world. We become of the world if we succumb to these noises and allow ourselves to be pulled in all directions. We become of the world if we allow frustration or anger to fester because of these noises.
Perhaps, the disposition is to embrace the world, but not to be consumed. The search for peace and serenity is deeply rooted in our hearts. If we tune the ears of our hearts to search for where we find peace, we will hear God’s voice. We will find that perhaps God’s voice is pretty loud and clear. And as we listen intently to God’s voice and anchor on them, we anchor on what is life-giving. There, amidst the noise and without blocking it out, we will not be consumed, but find rest and renewed strength.
I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. (John 17:15–18, NRSV)
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Originally published at Medium
Photo: Matthew Henry, Unsplash / PD-US
