Unplugging from this matrix we call life is pretty hard, especially for this hard-wired gal. Having just spent the better part of my stay-cation catching up on season 1 of Game of Thrones (curses, #watchathon!) among other DVR classics, it came to no surprise that with all the distraction of our plugged-in society, I haven’t had the time to contemplate the silence or listen to the rambling thoughts in my head…which, let’s be honest, is sometimes a good thing. But a longer walk with the Ollie on a 55-degree spring day sans iPhone/iPod/ianything…and the thoughts come flooding in. Lucky for you, readers.
I am finding that as I am increasingly trying to make myself sit still and embrace the silence, smell the proverbial roses and just calm the fuck down…I am not quite satisfied. But when I go 200 miles per hour, barely remembering what I ate or did the day before, I am still never quite satisfied.
And when do we ever feel satisfied? Shouldn’t we have that drive to succeed, do well, be a productive citizen to society and still have time to love life (and frankly get a life) and kiss and love and feel and all that mushy gushy stuff that makes life worth living? Shouldn’t we always be striving to be better, because you only live once (or YOLO as the young folk call it today)… or are we supposed to just be satisfied with today because tomorrow is not guaranteed, and good things come to those who wait?
And yet…while I am sitting still, embracing silence, watching my dog sleep in the sun, making fish tacos at 3pm on a weekday…the leisure side of me is satisfied while the fidgety side of me is like, what the hell?! Don’t you have a chore list a mile long and don’t you need groceries? Stop watching TV and be a productive citizen! And then when I do become that productive citizen of the matrix, I’m always wondering when I can find the time to do nothing and sit on the couch and veg out. And therein lies the rub.
Life lesson learned? The grass will always be greener. The more you check your instagram feed, the more envy you will have. But if you just unplug, the only thing you’ll hear is your own heartbeat…your own thoughts…your own ideas. And it’s there that you will find solace.
