In today's over-stimluating world, it seems to me that less and less of what surroundeds us on a second-to-second basis is nourishing to our bodies, minds and souls. It is getting more and more complex to have a life these days. It feels often times like the burgeoning to-do list involved in trying to feed, house and transport our bodies takes prescedence over our beingness - being healthy, being present, being whole. And the less we are being, the less we are being...You follow?
One of my ways of dealing with the overwhelm without actually dealing with the fact that I am overwhelmed, is to revert to habitual, compulsive behaviors designed to help me escape the noise. Most of the time these methods only add to and exacerbate the feeling of TOO MUCH.
Media consumption is one of those things. I turn the TV on for background noise while I get ready in the morning or make dinner at night; the radio is going anytime I am in the car; I have three browser windows open on my computer and often have my headphones on with music going at the same time....all so I can "escape" for a few minutes. For a highly sensitive person, like me, this is akin to being assaulted. And yet, I do it to myself - by choice - all the time.
On my way back to the office from lunch today, for example, I habitually turned on the radio. It was a talk program about sex addiction. The longer I listened, the more tense I became. I turned it off and said to myself, outloud: "This is not nurturing. It's noise." The silence and moments of reflection that followed were so restorative and refreshing...I used to spend a lot of time in quiet. What happened?
My project for the weekend will be to turn off or away from anything that is pure noise - visual, auditory or informational - nothing is safe. Everything has an off switch or can be put away...except for my tired little brain. And it needs a break.
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