Jim Hite
Everywhere, it seems, we see cell phones, earphones, iPods, One of the many perks of living in the country is enjoying that morning cup of coffee on our back porch.

I find it a fantastic way to start the day. Even if our schedule forces us to do a run first thing, the cup of coffee on the back porch can come right after cleaning up.

The weather matters not. It can be cold or warm, wet or dry, windy or still. The key to it all is the quiet, the beauty of nature, the pond, the trees, the symphony of the bird chorus. Sometimes, that first cup is enjoyed while skies are dark or the moon is setting, enjoyed as stars disappear and brightening skies signal the start of another day.

Facing west, I can watch the sunlight as it rolls down from the top of the trees across the pond.

When it is dark, there is little sound of activity. But when light breaks, vehicles traveling nearby roads and the sound of a diesel whistle join nature's chorus.

Looking back over the years, I have enjoyed that morning coffee in many settings. The quiet of the Smoky Mountains, outside motels, hotels, and cafes too numerous to mention in cities all over this great country of ours, at outdoor tables at a French bakery in London or on the River Seine in Paris, in city settings and rural, all have provided their own unique sort of quiet with which to begin living that gift of another day.

But I must admit. No place matches our own back porch!

The reason for these musings has a basis beyond my own enjoyment. Whatever happened to quiet? Whatever happened to enjoying oneself, with being alone, with being content just "being?" CD players, noise. I remember when on duty before school seeing the kids coming in with car stereos blasting or their heads moving to the beat in their ear and thinking how in the world a teacher could compete with that!

Back in my disc-jockeying days during the 1960s and 70s, commentators noted that the less talent singers or rock bands had, the more noise and spectacle and volume they used.

Good gracious!! That would mean there is absolutely no talent anywhere nowadays!!

But I digress!

Why a person does not want to take time to be quiet, to enjoy the beauty of this world without distraction can be answered only by that person. Why a person needs constant distraction is, well, personal.

Taking a quiet walk, running without earphones, sitting on a park bench, enjoying a sunrise or sunset for its own sake, walking quietly on the beach, even taking quiet time to be close to God in prayerful silence, each and all and more can deepen our human spirit, can provide peace and joy beyond measure.

I don't see taking time to be quiet as hiding from what goes on in the world. In fact, I would argue that such quiet time well used can make us more aware, more understanding, more open to see what part of God's world we can make better.

And tomorrow morning, as I hold my cup of coffee and see the day begin, I promise to bring each of you who read this before our God in a quiet prayer.

May you do the same for me.