Something I've noticed after losing touch with technology for a short while is my habit of constant consumption. I've recently realised that I actually struggle in silence. And not just auditory silence, but the silence of everything. Silence of the mind. I guess another term to put it is boredom.
The time interval between school and work. The morning commute. The couple hours before sleep. The moments after waking up.
I have this tendency to want to fill every 'empty' space with noise. So I turn to social media and trying to distract myself with other people's lives, subconsciously wishing I was some place else. Getting caught up in what the world is providing me with, instead of thinking about what I could provide to the world.
But with my usual cycling of thoughts during this silence, putting my electronics down for a second, I noticed that that silence is not empty at all. In fact it teaches you so much more than any app ever could.
Lessons about yourself, about your surroundings, about your path. About being present, about people and nature.
It teaches you that life does not have to be glittery and sparkly all the time. That it doesn't have to be extravagant to be beautiful.
It also teaches you that there is space for movement in this world and that there is so much we do not know and so much you can provide instead of consuming.
At first this silence is SO uncomfortable. But going through this discomfort and isolation and disconnection from those immediate gratifications is so rewarding. You are able to become not a victim of your circumstance but to have control over your situation, your mind and your plan of action.
The time interval between school and work. The morning commute. The couple hours before sleep. The moments after waking up.
I have this tendency to want to fill every 'empty' space with noise. So I turn to social media and trying to distract myself with other people's lives, subconsciously wishing I was some place else. Getting caught up in what the world is providing me with, instead of thinking about what I could provide to the world.
But with my usual cycling of thoughts during this silence, putting my electronics down for a second, I noticed that that silence is not empty at all. In fact it teaches you so much more than any app ever could.
Lessons about yourself, about your surroundings, about your path. About being present, about people and nature.
It teaches you that life does not have to be glittery and sparkly all the time. That it doesn't have to be extravagant to be beautiful.
It also teaches you that there is space for movement in this world and that there is so much we do not know and so much you can provide instead of consuming.
At first this silence is SO uncomfortable. But going through this discomfort and isolation and disconnection from those immediate gratifications is so rewarding. You are able to become not a victim of your circumstance but to have control over your situation, your mind and your plan of action.
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