Between the ages of thirty and forty-five Ludwig van Beethoven slowly lost his hearing. In frustration Beethoven wrote, “From a distance I do not hear the high notes of the instruments and the singers’ voices.” The maestro had to pound the keys of the piano so forcefully that he often damaged the instrument.

     Beethoven managed to feel the vibrations of the chords by holding a pencil in his mouth against piano’s soundboard. Yet despite his growing inability to hear Beethoven created his best music, including the magnificent Ninth Symphony. Harvard professor, Arthur Brooks, notes:

             It seems a mystery that Beethoven became more original and brilliant as a composer
             in inverse proportion to his ability to hear. Deafness freed Beethoven as a composer
             because he no longer had society’s soundtrack in his ears.

The irony is that as the hearing in Beethoven’s ears weakened, the capacity of his heart’s strings to discern a new tune was strengthened. With the noise of the world silenced around him, God pitched Beethoven a new and extraordinary musically sound.

     King David wrote that our ability to know what God is saying to us is contingent upon our willingness to tune out the day-to-day commotion that demands our constant attention. In short, grace-filled living stems from a heart that is actively listening. Like Beethoven, turning down the sound around us grants us a greater aptitude for hearing the voice of the One who dwells within us.

     Powering down the television. Muting the cellphone. Turning off social media notifications. These are a few practical ways each of us can tamp down the clamor that continually assaults our ears.

     For some of us, silence is golden. For others among us, the silence can be a bit daunting. Yet for all of us, silence can be a gift. A gift that can make the heart sing.