Can’t Find Some Peace and Quiet? Go for the Good Kind of Noise!

If you gotta have noise… make it the good kind of noise!

Lanette and I went to Cowgirl last night. It’s one of our new favorite restaurants in Santa Fe. We were thinking that being the middle of the week, it might be a little more laid back than usual.

Surprise! The place was alive.

I asked the hostess if she had a nice quiet table in the corner. Without missing a beat, she replied, “I’m sorry, we don’t have any of those here. You can wait in our bar and in about forty-five minutes I’ll have something for you.” Margaritas… here we come!

That sounded just fine to us. It was the right choice. After all, even with a little extra noise at times that only adds to the vibe, it’s a fun spot with great food.

Now, hold that feeling for a moment. Got it? Okay, I’m going to pivot and take a look at how noise can affect making not-so-good choices.

So, you’re free to choose for yourself, right?

Well, we believe we are. Yet you and I, more often than not, spend our time and our hard-earned money passively choosing from whatever is placed smack-dab in front of us. Not always, but far too often.

Have you ever thought of it in this way… other people we do not know or trust, pay money to put those very distractions right where they can’t be missed?

There is a good kind of noise like we found at Cowgirl. It’s the energy that sets the mood. Like I said… the good kind of noise.

But the noisy kind of noise is on the rise and fighting hard.

As they attempt to win our attention, businesses everywhere are paying big money to make a bunch more noise, just to get us to notice… so we’ll lift our eyes from our phones… or the opposite—strengthen the glue affixing them.

Why do I so readily lump it all together and call it noise?

I like to call it noise simply due to the volume… both in terms of how much and how loud.

The volume makes it noise. Both kinds of volume.     

I’ll go as far as saying we don’t even realize how noisy our world has become. That is, until you find yourself in one of those ever so rare, truly quiet moments.

Or in a place like Cowgirl, where a little (good) noise adds to the attraction. Your spirits pick up as you enter the front patio while the energy puts a smile on your face.

So, what can we do about it?

Good question. We still have a few options—

• Be acutely aware and protect your attention… keep that inner radar finely tuned.
• Seek out quiet time and places… frequently.
• Schedule unplugged time away from devices, even a few minutes helps.
• Go for the good kind of noise, like at Cowgirl.

Sometimes it takes conscious intent, but you can definitely choose your noise.

We can also push back on the noisy noise.

Keep in mind, most of the time we don’t even realize how noisy our world has become. We become complacent like that frog in the pot on the top of the stove. As the volume slowly, but steadily rises… we forget to notice just like the frog doesn’t even notice the heat.

Find some quiet as often as you can and go for the good kind of noise when you can’t. Both are good for the soul.

Be untucked.

p.s. Know someone who’s got too much noise in their life? Maybe forward it or share it on your favorite social media platform. Thanks… I owe you one!

Copyright © 2021 Jeff Meister – All Rights Reserved