The unintended gifts of a hunting trip.

Photo by Fredrik Öhlander on Unsplash

I have been wanting to write about this for a few months now. A few months ago, I went on a hunting trip with friends from grad school, and it sparked my desire to write about the virtue of silence. What was meant to be a great weekend for socializing with good friends became a phenomenal medium to recharge via silence. We were all independently stationed in hunting cabins for 6–8 hours. As luck would have it, there was very little deer to hunt, which left a lot of time to just sit there peacefully and be alone with my thoughts — with little to no cellphone reception.

I am a big fan of solitude and silence and have always recognized their effects on my ability to lead myself and others. It has always allowed me to discern and get closer to my authentic self. Regrettably, adulthood, parenthood, and prioritizing the more noisy aspects of life have eroded my ability to enjoy quiet times. When I was a missionary, I used to spend a ton of time in solitude and prayer, adoring God in silence. I took part in my fair share of silent retreats. Living with the Lasallian monks/brothers, we were frequently encouraged to isolate ourselves, reflect, and write about whatever the topic of the week was. My “silence muscles” were strong back then.

This hunting experience showed just how rusty I had become at being silent and simply being with myself. At first, it was challenging to sit still for so long, just by myself, hearing my own thoughts. I’m accustomed to being surrounded by so much noise that I found myself starting to miss it. It’s all too easy to fill the emptiness with online shopping, checking my inbox, social media, slack, etc. It’s easy to avoid oneself.

Since I had no reception and was fortunate enough to be surrounded by nature, I decided to revert to practicing good habits. I managed to productively use the time to pray and recognize God’s presence there. I remembered my late grandparents and other departed loved ones. I prayed the rosary. I prayed for my kids, my wife, and my extended family. I reminisced about how special God has been to me since I was a little kid. For the avid hunter reading this, you might argue that I should have been on the lookout for deer, but please know that I tried hard. But whatever the case, I can tell you that those extended moments of boredom were extremely productive, fulfilling, and filled with gratitude.

Despite being much busier these days, I still make it a point to prioritize solitude and silence. I wake up at 5 AM or earlier to savor solo time when I can read, write, prepare coffee, and enjoy the quiet moments in a household with two toddlers (and soon-to-be three). I go for long walks without headphones just so I can be with myself in quiet reflection and clear the noise.

I lead myself best through quiet moments. Finding times like these allows me to sharpen my thoughts, clear my head, and discern what really matters—sifting the important from the urgent. It rekindles my love for authenticity, genuineness, and overall, it eases my ability to feel God’s proximity, amid a hectic life of Zoom meetings and noisy kids.

To wrap this up, turns out none of us caught a deer. The most eventful thing that happened was that one of my friends shot a turkey and got yelled at—(hilarious, but off-topic). Even though we all came home empty-handed, I returned with a full heart. Full of laughter from spending quality time with great people, reminiscing about MBA shenanigans, and full of grace from making the most of idle time in a cabin. I would totally do it again, hoping for deer next time!