Dealing with the Noise

Life is quite noisy, isn't it?

More and more I find that every waking moment is filled with noise. Something is always happening, always tingling your synapses and firing up your neurons. Could be pleasant, or not; stressful, or mild; exciting or humdrum. But there is something always there, buzzing around your head like a gnat, eating away at whatever little bit of peace you have managed to conjure up for yourself. Are these the just demands of modern civilization, the implicit contract we signed up to avail of the fruits of human society and progress? Or is it a tad bit more cacophonous then it should be?

Workplaces are increasingly more stressful, especially in these uncertain times that we live in. The news cycle lurches from one catastrophe to the next, in an increasingly frenetic and macabre dance that incites and desensitizes in equal measure. Media - social or otherwise - is constantly in your face, setting benchmarks and laying out one marker after another that you should aspire for. And this all just the whirligig on top of the everyday travails of human existence; where families, emotions, dreams, hurts, joys, regrets, body, mind, being, enmesh into a dizzying spiraling swirl that leaves you gasping like a fish out of water. Where in all this madness can you find some peace?

I feel it all comes down to being more selfish. You need to snatch those few moments where you can catch your breath and just go blank, and you need to do that fast. Because there will always be demands on your time, to dos to take care of, loved ones who need you. You have to stop by the wayside every now and then and let the maddening rush go by. Could be as simple as taking a walk with your earphones on, ambling towards a destination but in no great hurry to get there. Maybe reading an engrossing book while your wife and daughter take angelic naps next to each other. Or just playing a game or two of tennis where all you are concerned with is getting the ball across the net. Keep things simple, cut down the variables, detach from the day-to-day and go with the flow.

I know that this is not rocket science, but it is getting harder and harder to implement. It is tempting to lay this at the doorstep of age and family life, but that's not really it. One has to focus and seize such moments, else there are enough and more excuses to justify continued ennui. At least I was sufficiently moved today to put pen to paper after a very, very long time. Need to hold on to this feeling and do this more often.

I do feel the noise abating a little bit now.