When did we get so uncomfortable with silence? I remember as a kid, my parents remarking – not without some degree of judgement – about a neighbour who always had the television on in the background.
I was always a chatterbox, with the nickname Chatty Kathy to go along with it. It took four years of journalism school to learn how to bite my tongue and not feel the need to fill the silence. The best interview quotes always came when you let the subject do that instead!
Raising three kids meant there was never any silence and I remember days when I absolutely pined for it. I can still recall the first luxurious days of all three of them being at camp. It was bliss – until the silence became oppressive and I pined for their return.
We live in a world where we’re bombarded with sound. Whether it’s the television and radio, or music, videos, audiobooks and podcasts on our phones, it’s really hard to find a moment when our brain has a chance to relax.
A Time Magazine article ponders how silence is not only a nice to have, but is truly vital for our brain. My own mindless scrolling on social media (I pretend to justify it because my day job is in Communication) is bad enough, but in the past year, I’ve fallen down the TikTok rabbit hole more than once. I’m told it’s a great place to market books, but I’m not sold! Still, I’ve lost hours of time, and I find myself feeling “fuzzy” afterwards. Unfortunately, when I this coincides with bedtime, it also leaves me wired enough not to sleep.
I’ve picked up audio books to listen to on my commute to the office – and increasingly on walks. I’m trying to consume as much book content as I can while I work on my second novel. And while I’m enjoying some new authors, I’m coming to realize that if I fill my ears with sound – noise, if you will – all the time, I don’t have the space to develop new ideas and new storylines. Writing on the work in progress has slowed, and this blog has been gathering dust.
Our devices – the source of much of that sound – are addictive. We know that, and yet we still spend hours with them. Pulling myself away from them for longer periods of time is going to be difficult, but it’s something I know I need to do.
I’m taking a week soon, to try and plow through the first draft of my next novel. Possibly, without the distractions, I can reach the goal of “the end”. Am I brave enough to spend the time in silence? Only time will tell!
