Love this. Retired last year after 30 years in education. The last 6 as a high school Principal. Good years but intense with 24/7 connectedness to the life of the school and everyone in it, for good and bad. Relaxed by doomscrolling American politics. Much of the first year has been about recovering the capacity for solitude and attention span. Walking in the woods, reading books, trying to write. Long way to go still. Like deprogramming from a global cult. Thank you as always for your thoughtful presence in this place.
You can find simplicity, but you have to work at it. Slow down. Watch a baseball game. Read a book. Don't pick up your phone for a few hours or more. It's tough, I know. But it's worth it.
Thanks Gary, yes it is tough, I try and leave my phone when I leave the house to go grocery shopping, it is fucking weird, not sure why it is such a hard concept, I have a brother in law, that has a dumb phone that he never answers, he rarely has it, he said he never thinks about it. I need that energy.
I read your work closely, and I suspect that your comments about being distracted at a baseball game are a little hyperbole for the theme. My guess is that you do get lost in the rhythm of the game, even if you get an occasional text message. I know that I do at least. I have a very engrossing and even challenging job, but I’m always amazed how little I think about it when I’m at the ballpark. And I have long rambling conversations with friends. .
Now, if they would just turn down the volume on the goddamn music, that would be an improvement! But thanks for this lovely column. And you always can link me in with a quote from Henry David.
I came back to your comment about the music between innings and the constant entertainment, I listen to old broadcasts from the 50s, 60s and 70s, and I love it when the broadcasters are just talking between innings and I don't hear the background noise because there wasn't any just the murmur of the crowd.
I have been to about 2/3 of the ballparks in baseball, although it’s been spread out over years. Most recently the worst is Yankee Stadium, where the speakers are right above your head and the music never stops. My beloved Dodgers Stadium is also bad but they do seem to turn the music down during the game. I recently went to a White Sox game in Chicago and was charmed by how little crazy noise and music they had. It makes going to the game so much more relaxing.
Great post. I'm 56 now and glad that I grew up before the always connected era. One thing I've done that helps is to silence audible notifications on my smartphone (95% of the time) and work computers (100% of the time - visual notifications are sufficient). In fact, I've complained to management on occasions when people around me have loud audible notifications).
Everything you write is how I feel as well - I don’t think our brains are meant to handle all the information that we have in our hands. It’s too much - it’s why we’re anxious and angry at people we don’t even know. It keeps us from being in the moment. A luxury for me is driving in my car - no radio. Just looking around with my own thoughts 😊
This really resonated with me. One of my favorite parts of the day has become keeping score during a ballgame, largely because it forces me to be present. My phone stays out of reach, and for a few hours my attention belongs entirely to the game in front of me.
Love this. Retired last year after 30 years in education. The last 6 as a high school Principal. Good years but intense with 24/7 connectedness to the life of the school and everyone in it, for good and bad. Relaxed by doomscrolling American politics. Much of the first year has been about recovering the capacity for solitude and attention span. Walking in the woods, reading books, trying to write. Long way to go still. Like deprogramming from a global cult. Thank you as always for your thoughtful presence in this place.
Thanks Extra, a walk in the woods, sounds ideal!
You can find simplicity, but you have to work at it. Slow down. Watch a baseball game. Read a book. Don't pick up your phone for a few hours or more. It's tough, I know. But it's worth it.
Thanks Gary, yes it is tough, I try and leave my phone when I leave the house to go grocery shopping, it is fucking weird, not sure why it is such a hard concept, I have a brother in law, that has a dumb phone that he never answers, he rarely has it, he said he never thinks about it. I need that energy.
I read your work closely, and I suspect that your comments about being distracted at a baseball game are a little hyperbole for the theme. My guess is that you do get lost in the rhythm of the game, even if you get an occasional text message. I know that I do at least. I have a very engrossing and even challenging job, but I’m always amazed how little I think about it when I’m at the ballpark. And I have long rambling conversations with friends. .
Now, if they would just turn down the volume on the goddamn music, that would be an improvement! But thanks for this lovely column. And you always can link me in with a quote from Henry David.
Right! The music between innings drives me nuts, could they at least do it every other, thanks Keith.
I came back to your comment about the music between innings and the constant entertainment, I listen to old broadcasts from the 50s, 60s and 70s, and I love it when the broadcasters are just talking between innings and I don't hear the background noise because there wasn't any just the murmur of the crowd.
I have been to about 2/3 of the ballparks in baseball, although it’s been spread out over years. Most recently the worst is Yankee Stadium, where the speakers are right above your head and the music never stops. My beloved Dodgers Stadium is also bad but they do seem to turn the music down during the game. I recently went to a White Sox game in Chicago and was charmed by how little crazy noise and music they had. It makes going to the game so much more relaxing.
Great post. I'm 56 now and glad that I grew up before the always connected era. One thing I've done that helps is to silence audible notifications on my smartphone (95% of the time) and work computers (100% of the time - visual notifications are sufficient). In fact, I've complained to management on occasions when people around me have loud audible notifications).
Everything you write is how I feel as well - I don’t think our brains are meant to handle all the information that we have in our hands. It’s too much - it’s why we’re anxious and angry at people we don’t even know. It keeps us from being in the moment. A luxury for me is driving in my car - no radio. Just looking around with my own thoughts 😊
This really resonated with me. One of my favorite parts of the day has become keeping score during a ballgame, largely because it forces me to be present. My phone stays out of reach, and for a few hours my attention belongs entirely to the game in front of me.
Love keeping score