“I have often said that the sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.” (Pascal)

We have all the conveniences of technology, only to keep us more distracted than ever. We were supposedly using all this wonderful technology to free us up for more noble, or even leisurely, pursuits. But we keep ourselves more busy and more distracted. We don’t want to face what is inward. It may be ugly.

But consider what would happen if we DID come aside to be alone in our rooms. What might happen if we allowed the quietness to examine our souls?

It could be ugly. We come face to face with our mortality and our failures. Then, the grace of God could step in and bring healing. We could find the power of the Spirit there to enable us to stand up and move on. We could find the vastness of the Kingdom of God that wasn’t visible before because we were too distracted to see the path.

But who would want that?

If we cannot see the fundamental basis of spiritual warfare in the simple act of being silent, I am not sure what would ever make us see it. We have an enemy who simply wants us distracted.

All these gadgets and conveniences, and we remain busy and distracted. It’s probably because we WANT to be distracted. We’ve bought into a horrible lie that keeps us from a true pursuit of happiness.