Finding Silence: Navigating Noise in the Virtual World

I thrive in moments of pause: a deep breath, a long bath, a walk in the still winter woods eavesdropping on conversations between birds.

I haven’t posted on social media in a while. I needed a break. I often do. But with a new book out, I need to make myself relevant, grow my following. I rifle through ideas: Maybe I’ll walk into the forest and read the section about pine, share an herbal ritual, write about my morning infusion of oatstraw. But posting about plants seems sorely out of touch with all that is going on in the world so I wonder about something profound to say, the ‘right’ thing to say. There is an anxious need to show that I am aware, awake, tuned in, not part of the problem. But saying the right thing to prove something feels false, performative. I have always engaged in activism offline, in the flesh, hands in the dirt. I think about a recent conversation I had with my sister: People are acting as though they are news reporters, she said. Um, you’re a musician. Not CNN.

I put my phone back in my pocket and say nothing.

With increasing noise, there is an increasing need for sacred, uninterrupted space. The speed with which information is coming our way is overwhelming, and none of us can administer triage to the entire globe alone, especially when we need healing too. When there is so much to distract and alarm us, it takes an assertion of our boundaries to recalibrate, breathe and find silence.

I think back to the hardcovers of my diaries as a teenager that held my soft, vulnerable words. Words that were just for me. Only I held the key. I know virtual networks are necessary tools these days, especially for those of us who are self-employed, and sometimes we can cut through the noise and offer something useful, even beautiful. But I’ve always been a one-on-one sort of person and posting on social media can feel like talking to a group at a noisy party. Not my comfy place.

So today, I wonder: how do you balance your need for silence with distracting virtual realities? How do you remain authentic and real in 2-dimensional worlds?