The urgent need to turn down noise

It’s impossible to enjoy the music and dance to its rhythm when there is so much noise that we become deaf.

Life’s song is playing while there is noise coming from outside and within. Videos, news, crises, emotions, situations, conflicts, all sorts of distractions scream and fight for our attention. Their buzz is urgent, disconnects us from what is happening and ourselves. It numbs us. It is even worse when we consider that the more noise there is, the more will appear.

The way out of this deafening cacophony is becoming aware of the toll it takes on us and creating space for silence.

Life’s tune and noise

Life’s song can evoke tranquility, spur suspense, and have the perfect tempo to accompany tragedy or fortune. This is a song about what is happening.

However, when there is interference, we listen to more than one sound concurrently. They merge, amplify, distort, and ultimately disorient us.

When the buzz comes from within, emotions, events, conflicting ideas, pieces of life’s tune that somehow stick to us are played in a loop. Meanwhile, the one from outside takes the form of all sorts of distractions that lure us by offering pleasure, drowning the internal scream, and providing a safe bubble.

Just momentarily, however.

Disconnected from rhythm

Once noise is present, it can turn into a vicious cycle.

External noise is the perfect breeding ground for the internal one. While we enjoy the distractions, a small conflict may be taking place in our chests and, forsaken as it is, grows into something grievous. If we ever fail to maintain this deafening stream of stimuli, the ideal hiding place falls apart and reveals them.

Internal noise is not pleasant. We like certainty and predictability, as opposed to contradictions, conflicts, and ambiguity. We look for relief. Unfortunately, external noise is widely available, and some appear very cheaply yet come at a high cost. So, we unknowingly pursue the path of least resistance. We plunge ourselves into more noise.

Each urgent echo pushes us toward the other in an endless cycle. The central issue is becoming deaf. We are unable to hear life’s song or our own voice. We are supposed to follow the music, but how can we follow the rhythm in this cacophony?

Turning down noise

Eliminating all noise is not possible nor desirable. While we can find beauty in the external noise and discover new facets of the world, the internal noise can serve for our growth and help us explore layers of ourselves. However, we must keep an eye on them by watching out for them and increasing silence in our lives.

Mindful distraction

Distractions are just like fire. It can serve as a tool when we need it, but it can also burn us to ashes. External noise can trap us. So we use it wisely.

Create a space and time for distractions. We don’t just let them in unless we plan to. That way, we have greater control over how much time and when they take place. In the worst case, where it proves too wild, it would serve as proof of something we better abstain from.

You should also explore how you feel after the activity. For example, doom scrolling and spending an hour outdoors. Both can be gratifying, yet after one, we will feel refreshed, while the other will feel lethargic.

Space for silence

The internal noise doesn’t need to be hushed; it needs silence. We look for the correct space for its sounds to play, thus unveiling its meaning.

Look for slow-space activities, or purposely make things slow. For instance, we devote 20 minutes of our whole attention to listening to an album, watching a film, reading an article or a book, writing a letter, or cooking. No task switching

You can even challenge yourself to do nothing. For two minutes, do nothing. When you play, you will start to think, look at what is surrounding you, or anything at your disposal, and you’ll catch yourself doing something. Then you start over. In this silence, noise is easy to hear and opens the possibility to be explored. When there is no more interference, we can simply look at life.

Recovering our hearing

The reality of noise is that we need to accept it.

All the existing external interference won’t go anywhere, but it will keep multiplying and is hungry for our attention. The internal buzz, the emotions, situations, and conflicts are also inherent to living.

So we must turn down the noise.

Become aware of the double-edged sword that external noise is, and choose wisely how to use it. Dissipate the internal conflict by providing the necessary space for it to be listened to and incorporating more silence into your lives.

Gradually, we will recover our hearing, tune in to life’s song, and our own voice again. We will be able to enjoy the thundering drums and the soothing harps.