When the Noise Stops…

July 2017 was the first time that Melissa Haber contributed to InkCloud. Three years on, and Mel has been inspired by our Life in Lockdown series. Welcome back, and thanks for sharing your perspective…

An enemy we can’t see is bringing the world to its knees.

As we lock ourselves indoors and shut off from the world, we have found ourselves sitting in silence, probably for the first time in a very long time.

By silence, I mean an absence from the noise of the world. The constant pulse and hum of people moving, bright colours of billboards screaming at you as you walk down the street, trains, trams, buses, planes – all the noise of humans making their way through the rat race.

We have been conditioned to keep moving at all costs.

Chase money. Secure a career. Start a family. Influence people. Gain recognition. What do we do when the race is paused and we can no longer chase?

For the first time, we are forced to examine and ask the question: Who are we when the noise stops?

We don’t like looking inwards. Its awkward and uncomfortable, and sometimes we don’t like what we see, so we stay away by distracting ourselves with other things.

The world is giving us a gift right now, the gift of silence and time to inwardly study what actually makes us tick.

You live with yourself 24/7, but do you really know yourself?

We spend so much time chasing the approval of others, that we forget to nurture the relationship we have with ourselves.

This is the perfect time to explore what matters to you and ask yourself, is the way I’m living my life right now nurturing the things that I truly find important?

If it’s not, don’t feel guilty. We all get caught up in the wrong things, and making mistakes is an essential part of what it means to be human.

Use the quiet time the world is gifting you, to forgive yourself for your mistakes.

It takes a lot of courage to live the life we want, instead of the one mass marketed to us on TV, in magazines, on Instagram feeds – all those carefully curated images that are pushed on you from every conceivable angle. This image is nothing more than the agenda of big businesses, designed to keep us suppressed and unhappy , so we keep buying their stuff.

Stop living the life you think you should and start living the life you want deep down.

There is so much beauty out there.

So many precious gifts held in each moment.

Breathe in the quiet, revel in it.

The world is giving you a moment, don’t waste it.

Examine.