How do you know when it’s time to unplug? What do you do to make it happen?
Silence.
The absence of sound.
Peace.
This is truly, a lost way of life. As I sit here, I contemplate the silence I am comfortably settled in.
It washes over me.
It soothes my mind.
I am used to running at one hundred miles per hour. My mind is familiar with the constant bombardment of sounds that come with modern life.
It is sickness to live like that. Noise, ever present in your ear, tickling your brain, feeding you stimulus. I decide to unplug when I stop having moments of silence.
As a Christian, and as a hobby philosopher, I feel it only necessary to engage in periods of extended silence. For one, how are we to listen to the word of the Lord if we are constantly drowning it out?
Elijah sought the Lord in earthquake and fire, but the voice which he heard, he heard in the whisper of a breeze.
Samuel heard the voice of God at night, as he was attending to the lamps, and it was so soft that he mistook it for the voice of Eli.
“The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.”
– Albert Einstein
“Nothing has changed the nature of man so much as the loss of silence.”
– Max Picard
I’ve had people tell me that they can’t go to sleep without something playing in their ear, that they can’t stop overthinking when they turn the background noise off. I’m a firm believer that this is the effect of incessant stimulation, that prevents you from taking charge of your thoughts, and ordering them.
We weren’t built for the world we live in. Until a few years ago, you didn’t have constant technology babbling in your ear, and escaping the noise of the world was as simple as stepping outside. Our minds aren’t capable of handling the levels of stimulation we throw at them every day, they need time to rest and process what they’ve been exposed to.
So I urge you today. If you’re reading this, and you’ve got a podcast running in the background, or music, or tv, turn it off. Close your eyes. Take in a deep breath. Release the dam, and let your thoughts flow like a river through your mind.
Sink back into a restful position, and let your mind process all of the things it has been exposed to. You deserve it.
Enjoy the silence.
Modern Survival Arkansas 