N.B. I wrote this post for my new Substack publication, Mystical Journey. But since the message is timely, I’m cross-posting it here.
Despite its significant flaws, Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain is a modern classic of contemplative and mystical literature. But did you know that when it was published in England, it was given a new title? Evelyn Waugh edited (and abridged) the first UK edition of the book, which he renamed as Elected Silence.
Americans are so accustomed to associate election with political campaigns, that we forget the word originally meant simply “to choose.” Consider how similar the words elect and select are. When adults prepare to be baptized in a Catholic Church, they are called “the elect” to indicate that God has chosen them to receive the sacrament.
Evelyn Waugh boils down Merton’s autobiography into two simple words. Merton elected to be a silent monk, after all. He walked away from a promising academic career to immerse himself into the austere, timeless silence of a Trappist monastery.
Today is Election Day, and there is much that can be said about the state of politics in America: how divided we are as a nation, how vulgar and offensive so much of political sloganeering seems to be, how competing policy proposals seem all but lost in the insults and jeering that fills the airwaves — and dinner conversations. Political campaigns are noisy, and seem to be getting louder all the time. From the literal noise of blather from the pundits and candidates, to the metaphorical noise of relentless articles, social media posts, and clickbait, an incessant stream of words, words, words bombards us all the time.
Let’s vote, thoughtfully and with a consideration of our values and conscience. But once we have left the polling station, I think we need to listen to Merton and Waugh, and elect some silence of our own.
I’m not saying you need to run off to a monastery or a retreat center, unless of course that is your call. I believe most of us are called to “elect silence” right in our homes, our neighborhoods, our local communities. We can elect to give ourselves respite from the grinding cacophony of the media. We can choose to find rest and rejuvenation away from the noise of partisan politics. Silence invites us to create the space in our lives to truly be able to listen to the whispers of the Spirit in our hearts: whispers that are only available to us when we pause, take time to be still, and drink deeply from the refreshing well of serene silence.
We are not meant to be silent forever. We will continue to work, and will remain engaged with the public life of our nation. But let’s make sure that our activities and activism are fully anchored in the silence that rests deep within ourselves. Let’s not make the mistake of choosing everything but silence. It’s a principle of good financial management to save money before spending it. In a similar way, elect silence first: and then choose to say, and do, what is needed out of that contemplative stillness.
N.B. This essay originally appeared in my Substack publication, Mystical Journey — click on the title to subscribe.
