Learning to Love the Peace and Quiet

Re: “A Place Where You Can Hear Yourself Think” by Mary Rourke: Unfortunately, hearing oneself think can be disturbing.

I also spent some “quiet time” with the Benedictine order, two lovely weeks in bucolic South Dakota. The religious value thought, reflection, and purposive action.

As a motivated, but too-busy, college student from Southern California, I came to envy and respect their lifestyle choice. Returning to my old comfort zone was traumatic; everything felt hurried and abrasive. I prefer to think of their world as “the real world.”

CHRISTINA STANLEY

Encinitas