From My Inbox - Seek Solitude

I've been hermiting (is that a verb? if not, it is now) a lot recently. And by a lot, I mean a whole lot. Somewhat of an overwhelming need to retreat. And this overwhelming urge to cocoon, close-off, selectively engage - aka hermit - has been boosted by time zones (extended travel translates to being "home" in NYC for the sum total of 3 nights since December 23). Now, I could attribute this innate need to close off to "focusing on my writing" but that excuse is not be an entirely accurate explanation.

It's something else that I cannot quite pinpoint.

For someone who passionately believes in the power of connection and the need for community, this hibernation-lite phase has now become something intriguing. A need I've needed to honor and now, examine. Is it simply a reset? A personality shift? Or a replenishing to gather the stamina to move forward with new projects? And while engaging with community aka networks are critical for our wellbeing - as in really critical for our mental, physical, and financial wellbeing - so too is engaging in time alone.

Noise, as Gordon Hempton, an acoustic ecologist and campaigner for the preservation of quiet places notes, signifies productivity. Having lived and worked in New York City since 1998, a certain octave of "productive" noise is familiar to me. Yet noise in our hyper-connected world isn't just the clamor of an office or co-working space or crowded networking venue. It's the noise of Slack or Trello or WhatsApp. Then there is whichever social media platform you choose to engage on. Layer on the symphony of noise in your head - you know the one - it's the noisy voice admonishing you for not participating more in the productive noise. The constant egging on to engage more, network more, create more "content" and contribute "more" to the noise. The FOMO noise. The "this is what you must do to get ahead" noise. The noise is endless and it just keeps getting louder and louder. And for the most part, we keep consuming it. Dr. Anna Lembke refers to this phenomenon as "compulsive overconsumption".

We are active contributors to, and consumers of, the noise.

So perhaps my extended tendency to hermit is curbing my appetite for noise, akin to a fast, following an extended period of near constant indulgence.

And maybe (after unplugging and purging) now is finally the time to mindfully tune back in, by finding new ways to meaningfully connect, selectively choosing what belongs on my social plate.

A networking challenge for you: Stay in the moment socially by planning a device free gathering. No snapping pictures of what you eat or drink. No "tag me if you post on social" sentiments (so you can repost later). No discussion of the IRL gathering on your social feeds - instead just quietly be in the f'g moment.

Read

💡 Quiet, please! The remarkable power of silence – for our bodies and our minds (The Guardian)

Unless we’ve had time alone, we can’t be who we would like to be around our fellow humans. We won’t have original opinions. We won’t have lively and authentic perspectives. We’ll be – in the wrong way – a bit like everyone else.

💡 The Need To Be Alone (School Of Life)

💡 Plato saw little value in privacy. How do his ideas hold up in the information age? (Aeon)

And essentially what’s happened is we’re spending more and more of our energy and creativity investing in this online world, which means that we are actually leaching our real-life existence of our energy and creativity.

💡 The Interview: Digital Drugs Have Us Hooked. Dr. Anna Lembke Sees a Way Out. (New York Times)

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