Friday 29 April 2016

Word of the Week - Silence

Well hello digital world! Did you miss me?

Last week I started a week of No Media - that's right, nothing, zip, nada. Now I know that some people will come out in a cold sweat at the thought and I was worried that I'd miss Twitter far too much. But I'm here to report that I survived the experience, obviously!

So why did I choose silence as my WotW? Well one of the most startling things I noticed about turning off the media was how quiet things can be in my house without the TV on all the time. I heard lots of birdsong, plenty of cars going down the road and, most importantly, I could hear my own thoughts. I didn't really think about how intrusive the TV is in my life. I tend to have it on all the time as a background noise to my life. That was just the way it was; enter a room, turn the TV on. So a week with very limited TV viewing was always going to test my resolve.

However, it was really wonderful. The first couple of days I had to remind myself not to turn it on as I walked into the lounge but now it's almost second nature. In fact I turned it off when I'd watched the news headlines this morning! So maybe I've broken that habit? Who knows.

Back to the silence. The sound of nothing takes some getting used to if, like me, you're used to always having sound around you. Some sounds that were muffled by it are striking in their volume - I never realised how may cars go up and down the road all day. The best part for me has been the freeing of my mind from distraction. It hadn't occured to me that with all the sounds around me that I was failing to listen to myself. At the risk of sounding all New Age Hippy I really tuned into my own mind. I decided to keep a journal of the week so I could blog about how it was accurately. I have never been much of a diary keeper, apart from a spell as a teenager when I wrote an embarrassing catalogue of moony diary posts about a selection of boys I fancied. Before you ask, no, it doesn't still exist so you can't read it! This past week has been a revelation in that respect. I really enjoyed writing journal entries about all sorts of things that were running through my head. So much so that I've decided to keep going with it, turning it into a general journal/writers notebook, somewhere to record and store all the things in my head.

Silence has been liberating and I hope that I can keep enjoying it by not turning the TV on at every opportunity. Let's hope I can continue to be selective about what I watch so I can enjoy the programmes and the silence more. 

10 comments:

  1. What a wonderful idea. I can imagine the silence was unnerving at first, but you'd grow used to it. I'd miss the news, but I could always buy the paper instead. I could easily give up TV. It would be persuading the rest of the family that would be the problem. #wotw

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    1. I was allowed the news on TV and Masterchef - couldn't give that up! - but pretty much everything else was turned off and tuned out. Persuading the family might be tricky but as I'm the media whore in my family it wasn't an issue!

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  2. Yes, we have the tv on as background noise too, so much so that people in the house get really confused if the tv is switched off. I do insist on turning it off if we have visitors though. I think keeping a journal of the things in your mind is a great idea. I know my mind wonders off sometimes and I hate being able to recall what I was thinking of...or is that just old age he he?

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    1. The journal was a revelation Anne, I had no idea that I'd get so much out of writin gone. That's a real keeper, as is being more selective about my medi aconsumption.

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  3. Welcome back! The TV doesn't bother me and I never turn it on when I'm alone in the house. But no social media would be a challenge! I like the sound of the journal and notes, any excuse for pretty stationery, right?! Thanks for sharing with #WotW x

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    1. Hello! Good to be back. No social media wasn't too bad but then I don't need to do it, my blog isn't my 'job' so I can leave it without it being a big thing. The no reading was tough but I did see the value of listening to my thoughts and ideas rather than someone else's for a while. Happy to be back with #WotW though!

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  4. It sounds like things went really well...
    I have the tv or radio on all day for background noise.

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    1. I think the radio is less corrosive than the TV Kim. The radio can be on and you can get on with other things whereas the TV almost demands to be watched!

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  5. Sounds fab - and welcome back - I always think it's amazing how much you can hear when you really listen. have a lovely weekend #wotw

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  6. I think having a break from technology once in a while is lovely. A chance to get outdoors perhaps and connect with nature to reading a book you can truly escape into. #wotw

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