White Noise

I can be sitting in my recliner at the back of my man-cave, exhausted from a long work day, checking unanswered messages and emails on my phone with reruns of Big Bang Theory, Bones, and Chicago PD playing in the background and not be watching an ounce of it. Background noise.

I can be sitting in my bedroom, peering out of my window with my laptop, mentally tearing through the short list of topic ideas for Mirror Time or an upcoming book. All this while having my I-tunes playlist blaring in the background. The songs don’t contribute to my work but they’re just an appendage to my process. Also background noise.

If we’re not actively listening or it doesn’t touch the heart of where you are. It’s likely background noise.

No matter how many times you hear the top news story, if it doesn’t prompt you to think differently or consider tangible change, it may be background noise. It does not register. It doesn’t make a meaningful impact on you. It is, in effect, meaningless and empty. A hubbub or a commotion. A momentary distraction. Or annoying chatter. It is simply noise.

How many times have you walked through a department store where you worked or shopped and that song is playing over the loudspeaker every time? And how many times did you find yourself humming that same annoying song long after you left the building? Yep. That white noise that was the backdrop for your shopping spree has found a home in your head. It might take weeks to get rid of it now.

It’s uncanny how seamless these sounds in the background of our life can worm their way into our consciousness. I would imagine that this is possible with any variation of this “noise”. In media circles, this noise often serves to mask or obscure critical information that we need with fodder that we don’t need. In musical circles, this noise could be a voice speaking a word or phrase, lowered to almost a near inaudibility and buried under strings and pulsating beats.

We may all be guilty of this, listening for the larger, more outward sounds and ignoring or suppressing the smaller but more vital aspects of what we entertain. Little things do mean a lot. I’m sure you’ve seen an analogy of this in conversations. It’s not always what the person that’s talking to you says. It’s more important what they are not saying to you.

These days, we focus on headlines that evoke fear, panic, and euphoria but the stories that should provoke personal and moral growth and change in us are shoved into the background. To top it all off, we’ve become woefully unwilling to read and listen to the whole story in any situation. We crave the headlines but despise the content.

I don’t doubt that we are hearing a lot of chatter, perhaps more than any other time in our history, but one thing hasn’t changed. We hear what we want to hear no matter what’s actually being said. Let’s consider changing that. Let’s actively listen and see what we can learn.