Have you ever used a noise cancellation device? Noise cancellation devices work in two different ways:
By masking the noise. Devices like earplugs block out the sound by reducing the pressure of the sound waves so whatever reaches your ear is quieter than it would be otherwise.
By canceling the noise. The active noise-cancellation (ANC) headphones have a little microphone embedded in the earpiece that emits sound waves in the opposite direction resulting in the two sounds canceling each other out.
We need both these techniques to cancel the unwanted noise around us. There is so much noise in the world that it is sometimes hard to listen to our own voice.
You might think that I'm obsessed with noise. I can’t stand TV, radio, or any music in the background when I am working. I much prefer the sound of my own thoughts. I never put the music on while driving, not even the radio. My husband’s argument that I have no idea what is happening in the world hasn’t changed me a least. I gave up actively reading or listening to the news for more than twenty years ago and still managed to not look like a moron in the civilized world.
It is not that I don’t hear the news. I get to hear it one way or another. We are surrounded by news and most of it is bad news. What I refuse is to listen to it again and again. That is what most people do. They first listen to it on TV, then on the radio while commuting, on the internet during the day, on the radio again on the way back from work, and on TV in the evening news. They would still want to listen to the ten pm update in case anything happened while they were having dinner and watching a couple of episodes of their favorite serial on Netflix.
They are listening to the same news again and again. There there were no 24/7 news channels, we didn’t miss any of the important information. Then why do we insist on listening to the news every two hours?
Most of the news is bad. It is not that we live in a bad world. It’s just that the bad makes news. And it gets repeated again and again. And that repetition causes noise.
Noise is not just related to hearing but all those stimuli that keep on bombarding our senses. Our minds need to process them continually. When our brain receives too much information, it automatically thinks we are under threat. So it alerts our defenses and scans the information for the negative. Which causes overwhelm.
Our minds don’t get time to sit idle. It is also true that the mind never totally sits idly, but it needs time to process all the information it gets bombarded with.
When there are no new stimuli, the mind is idle. It goes through the old information and sorts it out. It virtually decides which information to keep and which one to discard.
Ever sat idly and watched random thoughts coming and going through your mind. This is then your mind is doing the most important tasks - sorting and filing. It can’t do that if you open Facebook or start watching mindless videos.
It is also the time when the mind connects to seemingly unrelated things and creates something new. This is how new ideas pop up in your head out of nowhere. It is called creativity. An idle mind is not a devil’s workshop, but it is home to creativity.
So many of us are struggling to bring balance in our lives while our brains are inundated by noise. Whenever I feel that way, it is time for “Sometimes Therapy.” Which I will describe in a lyric to make it more enticing.
Sometimes we need to shut the world out,
and deal with the chaos inside.
Sometimes we need to break away long enough
to pick up pieces and put them together
so that we could be whole once again.
Sometimes we need to quit other people
to save ourselves.
Sometimes we need to block all the noise
so that we can listen to the silence inside.
Do you think you need to get in touch with your inner being. Cut off the noise around you, take some time off and be with yourself for a while.
You won’t miss anything.
And you will not regret it.
For the second time in two months, I have become the top writer in the Travel category on Medium. My travel articles on England, Scotland and Paris, are getting a lot of views. This week’s piece on London — Museums and Art Galleries is well received. A link to all my travel stories is here.
This week I published another short story, The Teapot. I enjoyed writing this one. Links to previously published short stories are here - The Goddess, The Blessed, A Christmas Wish, The Aunt Olivia, The Flight.
Here are the free links to this week’s articles.
What Is The End Game For Literary Writers
What Is Your End Game As A Writer
Shout-out for Three Fellow Writers
Enjoy!
That’s it from me this week.
Take care.
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I was one of those people who was so addicted to the news . It’s like I was programmed with news times. I would feel like if I didn’t watch or listen I would miss out on something important .I am happy that this habit has subsided. I start using those moments to listen to the voice within me. Thanks for sharing this topic Neera