So far, I am greatly enjoying having made and maintained my effort to reduce distractions and focus on a few key needs for myself. I’ve been successful in turning off the TV. I have limited the scope and focus of what I’m listening to, and I am more frequently allowing for simple silence and presence on my drive to work or morning walks, or spending time at home without something visual or audible demanding my focus and attention.When I worked for a beauty products distributor many years ago I became friends with a guy name Hamid. He was an outgoing and gregarious guy who managed the warehouse team. We went on a trip to Yosemite once to go backpacking into Hetch-Hetchy. On the way back we made the conscious decision to not turn the radio on in the car. We didn’t want to fill the space with sounds and distractions. We were driving through the beautiful mountains and hills sides and it seemed like a wasted opportunity to be in the moment by augmenting it with Def Leppard or Kajagoogoo. It was a moment comes to mind for me every once in awhile when I make the conscious choice to turn off the radio or TV. Sometimes I just need the quiet. And I need to listen to my own thoughts, too, instead of drowning them out.
I’ve been carving out that quiet time a lot lately, and I love it. It’s been beneficial for me to take the time to meditate, or to sit in silence, quietly reading a book or write to my hearts content.
I’m not up to speed on the latest season of Better Call Saul or the newest John Oliver segment, and although I have enjoyed those, they are momentary entertainments and distractions that won’t add lasting value or mean much to me in even a week or two. Filling my very limited open-space with transitory distractions takes away from the opportunity I have to explore that space and my own internal sources of entertainment or inspiration. Doing so is far more rewarding and lasting than time spent in rapt attention to what ends up being somebody else’s story, and somebody else’s life.
So far this month I’ve use the fire pit in the front of the house more than in the prior six months, I’ve relaxed in a warm tub listening to gentle instrumental music, I’ve written or read on the patio in the fresh air and sunlight, I’ve had friends over, I’ve been out with others, I’ve gone on mountain drives with my kids, and so much more. Oh, and i’ve used a great deal of my free time returning to writing, which is one of handful of activities I find to be the most satisfying use my time.
"Sitting high on a hillside taking in all the growth
Time to throw away my problems
Because I made them up myself
So I took all those worries, put them up on a shelf
And headed on down to the sea shore
Clouds slowly passing as I walked on the sand
I picked up a seashell and I made up my plan
I could feel the spirit of life in my hand
As I reached my destiny
I feel free
Where I can have my own space”
- Steve Miller Band