My world is noisy. From the movies and television that I enjoy, to the music and media that I consume, there is an over-abundance of stimulation that leaves me feeling overwhelmed. In all definitions of the word addict, I am addicted to the noise of life, the drug of culture.
Recently, I have been spending a lot of time in silence. Whether driving in the car to and from meetings and appointments, working in silence, or simply spending some quiet time reading in silence, I have found that I went through a period of withdrawal. I needed to know what was going on, I needed to be stimulated. I was filled with anxiety and loneliness. At first.
As I continued to embrace silence, the anxiety and loneliness was slowly replaced with an internal calmness and meditative awareness of peace. Miraculously, my ability to focus returned. The cares and concerns of my highly connective, technological world was brought into perspective and I became aware of what was truly important to me. I also realized how easy it was to forget my core values and be just another human being living life as a rat in a race.
With that, here is an idea for you. Ask yourself a few simple questions and really meditate on how you would answer them.
- How much silence is in your life?
- Are you making your life increasingly noisy in order to drown out pain?
- What is the noisiest part of your day and how can you turn down the volume?