In his book When You're All Out of Noodles, Ken Jones writes about a lesson he learned one day at the office.
[When I walked into my office,] I noticed something I had never seen before. It was round, about the size of a dessert plate, and plugged into the wall, giving out a constant noise. It wasn't a loud noise, just constant. What in the world is that thing? I thought as I stopped to stare.
I finally asked the receptionist about it. She said, "It's an ambient noise generator. If it's too quiet in here, we can distinguish the voices in the counseling offices, and we want to protect their privacy. So we bought the noise generator to cover the voices."
Her explanation made perfect sense to me, but didn't it have to be louder to mask conversations, I asked. "No," she said. "The constancy of the sound tricks the ear so that what is being said can't be distinguished."
Interesting, I thought. Very interesting. One kind of noise to cover the sound of another. It made me think and pray.
No wonder, Lord. No wonder I strain to hear what you have to say to me.....The constancy of sound----little noises, soft, inward, ambient thoughts and fears and attitudes---tricks the ears of my inner man and masks your still voice.
God isn't silent. We just have trouble hearing him.
Listening, Silence, Solitude, Spiritual Discernment, Spiritual Disciplines
1 Kings 19:9-13; Ps. 46:10
I finally asked the receptionist about it. She said, "It's an ambient noise generator. If it's too quiet in here, we can distinguish the voices in the counseling offices, and we want to protect their privacy. So we bought the noise generator to cover the voices."
Her explanation made perfect sense to me, but didn't it have to be louder to mask conversations, I asked. "No," she said. "The constancy of the sound tricks the ear so that what is being said can't be distinguished."
Interesting, I thought. Very interesting. One kind of noise to cover the sound of another. It made me think and pray.
No wonder, Lord. No wonder I strain to hear what you have to say to me.....The constancy of sound----little noises, soft, inward, ambient thoughts and fears and attitudes---tricks the ears of my inner man and masks your still voice.
God isn't silent. We just have trouble hearing him.
Listening, Silence, Solitude, Spiritual Discernment, Spiritual Disciplines
1 Kings 19:9-13; Ps. 46:10