Perhaps the most significant impediment to our emotional, mental, and spiritual health is not obvious evil but the lack of margin, too much noise, and too many distractions.

That being said, as I write this, I am sitting in a very quiet room alone, looking out a large picture window at the wind pulling on the last remaining few leaves in a large tree.

It’s tranquil.

Peaceful.

Serene.

No music or TV is playing in the background. Even my phone is in “not now” mode, and the only sound is the clicking of the keys on my MacBook.

Admittedly, as an introvert, I relish moments like this, but healing is found in the margins, whatever your personality. 

I fear too many leaders are missing the reflective moments where creativity and deep thoughts are discovered as we allow our hearts and minds to ponder and even wander a bit.

Sadly, we are “web weary” and too distracted to give our souls space to breathe.

I agree with A.J. Swoboda, “We suffer from a kind of reflective poverty. (We) fill everything with something. The spirit is willing, but the schedule is not.”

Sometimes I feel like I was born in the wrong century. Something in me longs for quiet moments after supper sitting on a front porch where the only agenda I have is to think, imagine, and reflect.

No Netflix.

No cell phone attached to my hip.

Nothing but the occasional laughter from a child in the house or the delicate sound of the wind blowing in the Aspen grove.

You protest, “Nice thought, but not reality.”

Perhaps.

But I suggest that we must carve out moments of stillness wherever and whenever we can because not doing so is the path to pandemonium.

On the other hand, profound joy and incredible creativity are found in the white spaces of life.