All I hear lately is that mindfulness meditation is the magic cure all for human problems like anxiety, depression, and being ‘too busy’ or stressed out all the time. And I believe it. But for whatever reason, it’s hard for me to make the time to meditate. It’s kind of like exercise. I know it’s good for me, but I can’t seem to find the time to do it.
One explanation I have found is that it is simply easier to be distracted and busy. Being ‘quiet’ is hard. It’s uncomfortable because it is so unusual. We spend so much time distracting ourselves with newspapers, TV, our phones, video games, drugs, sex, you name it. I have found that I am more likely to re-read the news on my phone or re-check emails than to pursue my needs and interests. Why is it so easy to do the convenient things than to do what we know we need to do? I struggle immensely with this. I WANT to be bored and quiet, but it’s a real struggle.
Blaise Pascal is supposed to have said, “All of life’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone”.
One of my greatest personal challenges was learning to spend time alone after I divorced. I would go out to eat alone and to the movies. I learned to appreciate and even crave this time with myself.
Being “quiet” is challenging. If you think about it, most of our day is spent trying to fill the quiet voids that arise.
We feel bored. Lazy. Unproductive.
Why have we forgotten how to just ‘be’?
We have become a planet of ‘do-ers’ rather than ‘be-ers’.
Why do we feel that we have to earn our existence rather than simply enjoy it?
Doing nothing has become a bad thing rather than a skill.
To me, something that is notoriously difficult to do is a challenge and not something to feel bad about.
Therefore, I enjoy alone time. And at the same time, I despise the knee-jerk reaction to try and fill the quiet voids.
Distraction is everywhere. Our screens. In advertising. Badge alerts on our phones. Netflix binging.
Our worlds are filled with things to do INSTEAD OF being ourselves. Just sitting. Listening to the birds. . . .
This episode is a reminder that our problems will not be solved by adding distractions but by opening ourselves to quiet stillness.
Do you think it’s important to be quiet or reduce distractions? How do you do it?
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