Quiet

I was working alone in my office at work a few days ago when I realized just how quiet it was. At the moment, there were no coworkers talking or walking past. I had forgone my usual working soundtrack to better focus on the project at hand. It struck me that I must have a lot of noise in my life if I was suddenly noticing the quiet of my office.

Tonight Dave and I had Shark Tank on while Miss G was still awake. Dave had to rewind it multiple times to catch what had been said in the middle of Miss G's babbling. She filled our house with her shrieks and laughs and "stories" (what we call her "Ga-ga-ga's" and "Ha-ha-ha's") until it was time for bed. Then she filled the house with her cries until she finally quieted down and fell asleep 20 minutes after I'd first laid her down in her crib.

Having a baby in the house is certainly part of the reason why my life is so noisy, but there are other ways I invite noise into my daily routine. Most days begin with the radio on in the kitchen as I prepare my breakfast while everyone else is still asleep. Nearly every day ends with talk radio in the background because it helps me fall asleep. In between, I automatically hit the power button for my radio just as soon as I start the car. And there's often a TV show or movie on in the evenings after Miss G goes to bed.

In addition to physical noise in my life, I invite a lot of mental noise in, too. I flutter from Google Reader to Facebook to Twitter back to Facebook again, only to be inundated with new blog posts, status updates, and tweets. Frankly, 99.9% of what I read isn't essential; it is more of a hobby. But when does that hobby start taking up too much brain space and making too much noise?

I don't have a challenge to give myself, but I do wonder if life with a little less noise would be better. I know that this week, spending the hour between Miss G's bedtime and mine reading a book in the quiet rather than watching TV has helped me wind down more easily. I know that from past experience, I have felt more relaxed and in tune with what's around me when driving in the car without the radio on. No, I won't challenge myself to 30 Days of Quiet, but perhaps I'll be a bit more intentional about making time for it.