Is it noisy in there?

We don’t need to be told that life is noisy. And much of that, we are actually choosing. Moment by moment, distraction by distraction, scroll by scroll.

Just before Easter, I found myself in bed with a nasty throat infection. I felt absolutely rotten, but there was a part of me that was actually enjoying the fact that I couldn’t do anything. I simply had to give in to it. I couldn’t do anything else, so I spent hours listening to binaural rhythms, letting my mind drift. It felt nice.

A few days later, better but shaky, still with the memory of that peaceful drifting, I decided to delete two social media apps off my phone. Embarrassing to admit maybe, but I could actually feel the tension in my body as my finger hovered over the ‘Delete App’ notification. I pressed it. A wave of relief actually flooded over me.

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I have been reducing the noise in my world gradually. A few months ago, I realised that I was deleting so many emails without ever opening them; the sense of overwhelm that I was feeling about trying to move house, and life in general, making me want to bat away everything as quickly as I could.

I realised that, in my knee-jerk batting away, I was actually also deleting (or skimming over) the wholesome, the heart-felt, the TRULY inspiring and uplifting things that I had subscribed to. I was missing out on the good stuff that was coming my way through the fog of STUFF. So I unsubscribed and unsubscribed. And once I had cleared away the white-noise, I had a just few clear notes that rang in my inbox. Emails that I would actually save and read later. Voices in amongst the clamour, that I actually wanted to hear. I don’t need to know that Cos has a sale, or that I have won a bonus for a night-out from a ticket app that I used 3 years ago. But I DO want to know about plant medicine from an amazing herbalist, or a recipe from a food writer who writes so beautifully that I almost don’t care what she cooks.

Those were the notes that I wanted to hear.

But, there was still social media to contend with. The thing was, I had just signed a petition banning the sale of smartphones to under 16’s, which I am fully on-board with, and I felt like a hypocrite. How could I see the stats on rising anxiety, toxic comparison and other mental ill-health and really, honestly, say that it’s different for adults because our brains are more well-developed?

Anyway, it’s been 4 weeks without social media on my phone, and it’s been good. I am having better ideas AND seeing how I can move them into reality. I am really really enjoying Spring, as I am actually seeing it. I feel calmer. I actually genuinely feel uplifted and inspired by the small handful of emails that make it into my inbox. I am still using my phone as escape and distraction at times, but the BBC website and the Ocado shop isn’t half as compelling as Instagram.

We can choose this. We can choose less noise and more life.

I’d love to know how you get on.