In today’s world, we are bombarded with constant distractions—notifications, deadlines, streaming services, social media, and a never-ending news cycle. Every moment is filled with noise, leaving little space for introspection, reflection, or connection to something beyond ourselves. It can feel almost impossible to find a sense of spiritual peace or clarity amid the chaos. Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, who wrote in the 19th century, had insights that remain surprisingly relevant in our current age of relentless distraction. His book, The Sickness Unto Death, invites us to confront the despair that often emerges when we live disconnected from our truest self and from the eternal. Kierkegaard saw faith as the antidote—a leap that reconnects us to God and to the deeper meaning of life.
So, how can we follow Kierkegaard’s guidance and find God amidst the distractions of modern life? How can we carve out space for faith, even when it feels like our attention is always being pulled in a thousand directions? Let’s delve into Kierkegaard’s perspective and explore practical ways we can incorporate his teachings into our own lives.
The Challenge of Modern Distractions
To understand Kierkegaard’s guidance, it’s important to look at the challenge we face in the modern age. We live in a world where attention has become one of the most valuable currencies. Every app on our phone, every advertisement, every social media platform is designed to capture and hold our attention for as long as possible. As a result, our minds are constantly fragmented. We scroll through our feeds, jump from one task to another, and consume a flood of information without truly pausing to reflect on what it means.
This constant barrage of input leaves little room for deeper thoughts. In this state, it’s difficult to engage with the bigger questions of life: What is my purpose? Where is God in my life? What does faith mean to me? These are questions that require stillness, reflection, and a willingness to look beyond the superficial distractions of the everyday.
Kierkegaard understood the importance of making space for these questions. In his writings, he speaks about despair as a kind of sickness—a disconnection from the self, from God, and from the eternal. He saw this despair as pervasive in human life, particularly when we become lost in the trivialities and superficialities of the world. But he also offered hope. Kierkegaard believed that reconnecting with God, through a leap of faith, was the key to overcoming this despair and living a meaningful life.
Faith as a Leap: Finding God Amidst the Noise
Kierkegaard famously described faith as a “leap”—a leap into the unknown, into trust, and into a relationship with the divine. According to Kierkegaard, faith does not come easily or automatically; it’s not something we acquire simply by going to church or participating in religious rituals. It requires us to make an active choice, to take a leap, and to trust in something beyond ourselves.
This concept of the leap of faith is particularly powerful in our distracted world. To have faith is to choose, consciously, to turn away from the noise and to direct our attention to something deeper. It means carving out moments to reflect on our relationship with God, even when everything around us seems designed to pull us in the opposite direction.
For Kierkegaard, faith was not about having all the answers or eliminating doubt. In fact, he believed that doubt was an integral part of faith. It’s precisely because we don’t have all the answers that faith becomes meaningful. In a world that often demands certainty—whether it’s the certainty of scientific facts, political ideologies, or societal expectations—faith invites us to embrace the mystery of existence and the possibility of the divine.
Creating Space for Spiritual Clarity
But how do we actually do this? How do we find God in the chaos when our attention is constantly being demanded by the world around us? Kierkegaard’s writings suggest a few key ideas that we can translate into practical steps for our own lives.
1. Embrace Silence and Solitude
Kierkegaard valued silence and solitude as essential components of spiritual life. In a world filled with distractions, creating moments of silence can feel countercultural—but it’s also incredibly powerful. Whether it’s dedicating a few minutes each morning to quiet meditation or taking a walk without your phone, creating moments of silence allows us to turn inward and connect with our deeper selves.
In these moments of stillness, we can reflect on our relationship with God. We can bring our doubts, fears, hopes, and questions into the silence, trusting that God is present with us in that space. Silence creates room for us to listen—to listen not just to our own thoughts, but also to the quiet whisper of the divine.
2. Limit the Noise
While it’s impossible to eliminate all distractions from our lives, we can take intentional steps to limit the noise. This might mean setting boundaries with technology—turning off notifications during certain hours, creating tech-free zones in our home, or taking regular breaks from social media. By reducing the constant influx of information, we create more space for reflection and for spiritual connection.
Kierkegaard often spoke about the importance of focusing on what truly matters, rather than getting caught up in the trivial. Limiting the noise in our lives helps us to focus on what is most important—our relationships, our values, our purpose, and our connection with God.
3. Engage in Reflective Practices
Kierkegaard believed that self-reflection was crucial to living an authentic life. In The Sickness Unto Death, he emphasises the importance of understanding oneself in relation to the eternal and to God. One way to foster this kind of understanding is through reflective practices such as journaling, prayer, or meditation.
Journaling can be a particularly helpful practice for processing thoughts and emotions and for exploring questions of faith. Taking time each day to write about your experiences, doubts, hopes, and reflections on God can help you gain clarity and see patterns that might not be immediately apparent. It also creates a record of your spiritual journey—something you can look back on and see how your faith has evolved over time.
4. Make Faith a Daily Choice
For Kierkegaard, faith wasn’t a one-time decision; it had to be chosen again and again, every day. In a world that often feels chaotic and overwhelming, it’s easy to lose sight of our spiritual lives. But faith requires us to be intentional, to make the choice to seek God even when it feels difficult or inconvenient.
This might mean setting aside time each day for prayer or meditation, even if it’s just a few minutes. It might mean finding ways to connect your daily activities to your faith—seeing your work as an act of service, your interactions with others as opportunities to show love, or your moments of rest as times to reconnect with God. Making faith a daily choice means looking for God in the ordinary and the mundane, not just in the extraordinary.
5. Accept the Tension Between Doubt and Faith
Kierkegaard’s concept of the leap of faith acknowledges that faith and doubt often coexist. In a distracted world, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by doubt—doubt in ourselves, in the world, and in God’s existence. But Kierkegaard invites us to see doubt not as the enemy of faith but as a part of it. Faith is meaningful precisely because it involves a leap into the unknown despite our doubts and fears.
Accepting this tension can be freeing. It means we don’t have to have all the answers to have faith. We don’t have to resolve every doubt or overcome every fear before we can connect with God. Instead, we can bring our doubts and fears with us, trusting that God is with us even in the uncertainty.
Finding God in the Everyday
Ultimately, Kierkegaard’s guidance for finding God in a distracted world comes down to intentionality. In a culture that pulls our attention in countless directions, we must be intentional about where we direct our focus and what we choose to prioritise. Finding God in the chaos doesn’t necessarily mean making dramatic changes to our lives. It means making small, consistent choices that help us reconnect with what truly matters.
It means carving out moments of silence in the midst of noise. It means choosing to limit the distractions that pull us away from our deeper selves. It means engaging in reflective practices that help us understand our relationship with God and making the choice, day after day, to seek God even when it feels difficult. And it means accepting that faith is a journey—a journey that includes doubts, questions, and uncertainties, but one that ultimately leads to a deeper and more meaningful connection with the divine.
In The Sickness Unto Death, Kierkegaard reminds us that despair often comes from disconnection from ourselves, others, and God. But he also reminds us that faith offers a way out of that despair. It offers a way to find meaning, purpose, and connection in a world that often feels chaotic and overwhelming.
By following Kierkegaard’s guidance, we can find moments of spiritual clarity, even in a world full of distractions. We can reconnect with our true selves, find meaning in our daily lives, and discover the presence of God in the midst of the ordinary and mundane. And in doing so, we can begin to live more authentically, more deeply, and with a greater sense of peace and purpose.