Noise

I’ve been away for a few days… away from my cozy little world; away from an environment over which I have (pretty much ) total control; away from the carefully curated bubble of interconnectivity and its multiple layers… diving head-long into the press of external realities, piled one on top of the other.

Trains and shuttles; traffic and close calls; hotels and their unique versions of comfort and cleanliness; and the press of humanity that I now, so often, carefully avoid. Line-ups to enter and leave; get on and get off. Arriving at a hotel with a lobby teeming with voices… spread out everywhere with nary a place to sit. Such is the result of a conference with 700+ people in attendance. Clearly, to be expected and not necessarily to be enjoyed.

So many different smells and textures. And what I noticed most of all: so much noise!

Train noises! People noises! Things dropping and scraping against other things. Cutlery clanging. Plates hitting heavily on their awaiting table surfaces. Background music so loud you have to lean into a conversation in order to be part of it and yell to contribute to it.

I am one of the privileged.. so easily able to create the space that allows for stillness, both inside and out. And, truth be told: I like it like that.

The cacophony of unwelcome sound barely lends itself to a surface expression, speaking in short bursts and only to the essentials of the moment. Superficial exchanges that address some in-the-moment need… and then move on. Very little invitation to willingly consider anything more robust.. anything beyond the tyranny of the immediate.

Noise! So much noise from the outside pressing up against any hope of tranquility on the inside. Noise as a practical real-life intervention and noise as a powerful metaphor for how persistent and consistent is the press for us to abandon a mindful intention to an immediate demand. Such noise levels cause us to curl in on ourselves.. retreat and contract… and scan the room to execute an exit strategy.

It causes me to notice how fortunate I hold myself to be that such situations are rare and limited, for me. I find myself wondering: what’s it like for you?

Many go through their lives profoundly affected by such things… like noise… and never attribute TO them the consequences OF them in their lives. The consequences of bracing; of holding and stiffening; of impatience and the pressing need to dismiss and move away. Perhaps finding ourselves abrupt and abrasive… just wanting to get past it and over it and move on. Too often, we respond without noticing what we are responding to. We may think it’s another person or an event when, were we to slow down… pause… and notice, we would become aware that it is something that is contextualizing our experience. Something like noise.

Slowing down long enough to calibrate for what is provoking a response is often all that is required to capture a useful level of intelligence. When surrounded by unwanted noise, we tend to hurry to remove ourselves from it – often not even noticing what we’re doing. Slowing down allows us to calibrate and experience… and it is the experience that leads us to discovery. ‘Bracing against’ may get us through and it will not take us beyond.

Consider these lines of enquiry for yourself. Who knows? You may discover what is at the root of your agitation.. impatience… and eagerness to withdraw. Hopefully, these will offer you a moment to ponder: How else might you choose to live YOUR life, today!

• How much noise is in your Life… your day… your moment?
• How much noise do you welcome and how much do you brace against?
• How easy is it for you to find tranquilly outside of yourself… and inside yourself?
• Do you notice the impact on your body… on your breathing… on your thoughts when steeped in unwanted noise?
• Are you aware of the degree of tension… of ‘bracing against’… when noise passes your personal threshold of comfort?
• What noises do you welcome and what noises become intrusions into the privacy of your mind?
• How much control do you have over the noise levels in your day-to-day unfolding?
• How much and what kind of noise do you tolerate, simply accepting that there is nothing you can do about it?
• What strategies have you adopted to get yourself through the imposition of unwanted noise?

Too often, it is the seemingly small things we no longer notice that gnaw at the edges of our willingness to engage. Not bad… not wrong… and there are other ways. But first, we need to notice what’s really going on.