Noise. . .
I noticed something recently after finishing a long stretch of my writing and work. In those moments I tend to get away from my computer, phones and TV. Music off. Screens down. No notifications. No background anything – Just quiet.
When I first started doing this many years ago it was difficult. At first it didn’t feel peaceful. It felt a little uncomfortable, like my mind didn’t quite know what to do with the space.There was this lingering echo of everything that had been there before – conversations, ideas, noise that hadn’t fully settled yet.
It’s interesting how we get used to constant input. Always something playing. Something scrolling. Something filling the gaps and when it’s not there it almost feels like something is missing. Yet I stayed with it, didn’t reach for my phone, didn’t turn anything back on and just sat there. Slowly, the mind began to settle, the noise started to fade and the mind had a little space of its own.Not all at once, but little by little until what was left wasn’t empty, it was clear.
Buddhism doesn’t ask us to add more to our lives It doesn’t say we need more knowledge, more stimulation, more answers. If anything, t points in the opposite direction. Less noise, less clutter and less constant engagement. Underneath all of busy habits and mindsets there’s already something steady, something quiet that doesn’t need to be created – just uncovered.
The problem is we rarely give ourselves the space to notice it. So maybe today you don’t need to add anything new. Maybe you just need to remove something, turn something off and step away for a few minutes. One of the greatest lessons we can learn in this life is to let the noise settle and see what’s already there. We walk away from the unneeded noise to plunge into the unwavering wisdom.
Peace and Love, Jim
#lifesnoise #thedailybuddha #tdb
