Quiet Moments
I’m a big fan of quiet moments. Always have been. I believe that’s because I do my best wondering, thinking about a problem, enjoying a book, or any other activity needing significant application of the mind and/or heart when things are quiet. All the senses can be trained on the moment at hand, no distractions to interrupt the thought that is forming, or the pleasure being experienced. But as distractions from 24/7 news, “smart” phones and social media, crowded spaces and so on continue to grow, the availability of quiet moments seems to be shrinking. That may or may not be a contributing factor in a behavioral pattern I see emerging.
There is a growing number of people today who seem to have the ability to do something cerebral, like study for an exam, in a crowded and noisy place such as a coffeehouse. It is also my impression that this noisy environment is a preference, rather than a response to the lack of quiet places. So, my question is, are they able to totally filter out all distractions, or is the energy and noise a stimulant to thinking/concentrating better? If the former, I am very impressed and amazed, but not necessarily envious. If the latter, this begins to chip away at my argument for quiet moments.
This latter behavior would seem to be a form of multi-tasking, i.e., simultaneously listening to coffeehouse music, checking social media and studying. I think I can multi-task okay when the situation requires it, but the quality of the performance of each task is necessarily poorer than if I had been concentrating on one task. Does this make sense?
But wait, I think I have hijacked my own Thought. I didn’t start out to denigrate the ability to concentrate in the presence of distractions. If it works for you, by all means seek to develop those skills to embrace and flow with our increasingly distracted world. I don’t want to denigrate this, but I am skeptical. For me, as I regard the growth of distractions in our lives, I truly have the need to seek out quiet time for “purer” cognitive and emotional experiences. Maybe give it a try?
enough