It occurred to me today that the noise is getting so loud.

It’s everywhere and it’s getting louder all of the time and I am having a hard time maintaining my sanity in the midst of all of it.

It seems to be coming from everywhere. If I turn in one direction or the other, or in any direction, there is the noise.

The worst thing about the noise is what happens when I listen to it.

The noise gets me to hating people. It gets me to blaming people. It gets me to doing things that I wouldn’t normally do. It gets me angry at things that wouldn’t normally upset me. It makes me sad and scared and irate and frustrated and desperate.

It gets me looking for ways that I can hear more of it –> this is especially disturbing.

Until a friend says to me, “Turn it off.”

And so, I say to you, “Turn it off.”

The social media –> turn it off. And tell others to turn it off.

The mainstream news –> turn it off. And tell others to turn it off.

Whatever is making the noise in your life, to whatever extent you can, turn it off. Or at least, turn it down.

In the end, our society seems dedicated to the production of noise. I’d blame the internet or social media or the television, but blame is not productive and it doesn’t really matter where it’s coming from as long as you remember that you have the power to turn it off.
Seek the silence. Seek the stillness. Look for the peace and the calm and fight against those things that would fight to disturb you.