Thursday, May 17, 2012

Be Quiet

Remember the phrase, "radio silence"? Seems quaint now. The whole idea of being off the grid makes most of us shake our heads. Not check our smart phone a billion times a day? Not post an update on Facebook? Not twitter about something? Not read the news online?

I dither from all in; a twittering twit, a Foursquaring bore, a Facebook nut for the Words with Friends, a blogging tool - oh wait - use of my blogging tool.

I annoy with updates, location checkins, directing traffic to my blog, logging workouts, logging daily nutrition, calendar updating, right down to Google note-taking.

To nothing. Radio silence. I get overwhelmed with it all. I stop. I experience radio silence.

At least I think I do.

Then I find myself checking emails at least. Well, you have this smart phone, use it! Just poke your head into Facebook and see what's shaking.

Not that anything is EVER shaking. But I don't want to miss it if it HAPPENS to be shaking. You know.

Radio silence.

Our kids would have no idea how to handle that. None. Proof being how no one, at least from my vantage point, can spend any time without something to read, something to blast in their ears, something to send, receive, check, log, forward. Something to do.

When I was a wee girl, and actually to this day, I would get lost in thought. All the time. Daydreaming we used to call it.

I started thinking up stories in my head when I was about seven to get myself to fall asleep. Elaborate stories. I do this still. I daydream (that can't be the right term!) while I am trying to fall asleep. I conjure up something incredibly pleasant or exciting or something that I'm looking forward to or something I'd like to look forward to.

Daydream. My own radio silence.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Some days it gets overwhelming and I just have to take a walk or a drive and get out of the house. It's calming to just daydream and not use any technology. Ahhhh.

T said...

Again, an insightful blog post. My Fashionplate fix. Your insight so resonates with my soul.

I love the whole silence thing, the hunger for it admidst the cacaphony of life...a need I too have had since young childhood.

It truly is too bad that this generation does not hunger for that "radio silence."

They don't know what they're missing.

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

Great post, Deb - although I have to admit I'm not one to daydream.. I'm one of those always looking for something to read.

Ms. A said...

Not sure about radio silence, but I had some web silence last night when Google would not work for a while. Crazy!

So. Cal. Gal said...

I'll never own a smart phone because I have a desktop, a netbook, and a tablet. lol! But I can put them down.

And I daydream at night too! It takes me a long time to fall asleep so I let my mind wander...sometimes into X-rated territory. ; )

silvergirl said...

My brother and I used to make up elaborate stories at night to help us go to sleep
haven't thought about that in forever
brett

Anonymous said...

I actually think so many youth are out of touch with human skills such as converstion,people interaction and daydreaming!I actually heard my niece tell her boyfriend while talking on her smart phone lets hang up and just tevt! Wow! Scares me a little! Traci

Not So Simply Single said...

I don't tweet.

I welcome silent.

I welcome days with no phone, no computer. Honestly, I do.

The silence makes me appreciate my single life, one where I can just be, and not do.

Ahhhh....

lotta joy said...

I'm here from Mrs. A. I regularly ask for a "cone of silence". My husband is a talker, my dog is a barker, and I do neither. lol