I am my daughters’ violin Practice Partner. I noticed when one daughter, earlier today, pulled her head away while playing a piece. I asked her about it, and she said the violin was too loud. It’s true, she produces bold sounds when she practices. Sometimes it’s too loud for me as well. Maybe her violin teacher can offer some suggestions for tempering that sound, she she won’t need to pull her chin off the rest or dampen the tone.
As she explained why she turned her face away, I got inspired about how to handle too much noise — noise pollution, if you will.
I use social media for different reasons: keep up with friends, check the news, and such.
Some of that checking has come at a price. I’m seeing posts with all kinds of unchecked nonsense. I’m not saying everything out there is unintelligent. Not even close. But emotionally-laden claims and charges that aren’t checked against against what reputable experts in the field have to say — about COVID-19, vaccinations, politics, or what-not — deeply frustrates and discourages me.
Going to college and graduate school and studying philosophy were some of the best life decisions I made, because I learned (and am still learning) to reason properly. I do my best not to make unfounded assumptions or claim to have all the information on a topic. We cannot be self-made experts on every topic out there. Having command of one specific area is already challenging enough.
The only person I can hope to really influence or change is myself.
So, I’m going to turn my face away a bit, from all the news and social media frenzy. I don’t want to be completely ignorant of what’s going on here or in the world. I’ll check in to see how the world is faring. Just check in. I don’t want to bide my energy and time being consumed by all that’s going on.
I’m turning my head a bit, so I don’t go deaf from all the noise.
WAM - Writing and Art in the Making 