Sometimes
you come across an image so powerful that it instantaneously etches itself into
your consciousness. I felt like that
when I first read Giovanni Sartori’s memorable lament:
having to take longer and longer steps
with shorter and shorter legs”.
There was a
time when we could switch off; take the phone off the hook; go for a walk; go
to sleep; catch a little peace and quiet ....
Not
anymore. Mobile media like cell phones
have insinuated themselves into even our most remote and intimate moments. The
difference between “my time”, “your time” and “our time” has disappeared and
you are just as likely to get a business-related phone call as you cruise down
the Zambesi on a perfect Sunday morning as you are at work – it really doesn’t
matter where you are or when it is, they will get you anyway.
The problem
is made worse by what Seth Godin wrote about in his perceptive posting “Signal
to Noise”: there is an inverse correlation between the strength of a signal and
the amount of noise and right now our signal is being drowned out by a cacophony
of often completely useless noise.
The crazy
thing is: It’s our own fault!
We have
somehow allowed ourselves to be convinced that all will be lost if we unplug
ourselves from the tumble-dryer our world has become for even a moment so
instead of stopping to smell the roses or blow our nose once in a while, we
spin our lives away somewhere between out of control and hysteria.
Here’s the
thing: The world is unlikely to even
notice you clocking out; there’s not much short of global catastrophe that
can’t wait just a little bit; and most of that “critically important” stuff you
are trying to manage, absorb, use is utterly useless.
And here’s
another: Generations of people managed quite happily without all this grunge
cluttering up their consciousness all the time. They invented the wheel, sent people to the moon and figured out how to
make the perfect soufflé without ever having gone onto the internet or using a
mobile phone. Just as well, if they
hadn’t, we wouldn’t be here!
Which brings
me to the title of this post:
It’s
true: All you need really is
enough.
The
rest is just noise.
I got it
from a good friend in response to my post “When they write the history of the
world ...”. It was something her Grandfather
used to say.
The saying
was probably coined with material things in mind, but it applies equally well
to just about everything: time, knowledge, skills, love.
The intended consequence of tuning out the noise is to optimise the signal. But it doesn't stop there. The constant barrage of noise, like the headlights of an oncoming car, takes up all your attention making it impossible for your mind to wander or wonder. With the noise gone your thoughts are set free and the unintended consequences of being in a quiet space will flow to the farthest outreaches of who you are and what you do.
Among these unintended consequence is likely to
be the realisation that you have become so inured to the constant clamour that you are deaf to what really matters and the rediscovery of what it means to actually
listen and hear for a change.
So, when next you feel yourself flailing on the existential hamster-wheel, sense your legs getting shorter as the speed increases, just stop, tune out the noise.
Sartori may be right about how we feel. As far as living
your life is concerned, he is dead wrong!
It only feels as if your legs are shrinking; it only feels as if the stepping stones of life are further and further apart; it isn’t true.
Life still happens one second, one minute,
one hour, one breath at a time ... and your legs are long enough ... and that’s
all you need.
As is the case with most things, there is a flip-side to knowing that all you need is enough:
Too much is too much ... but we can talk about that some other time.
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