Listen to the train for a minute before you put your earbuds in. The rhythm on the tracks is its own kind of song.
GRATITUDE
WHAT THIS MEANS
The world is already making sound before you add yours. Wheels over joints, a horn two streets off, the long rise and fall as a train passes: none of it was composed, and it still has time in it. Earbuds are not the problem, the reflex is. The music starts before you have heard where you are.
Give the first minute of any wait to whatever is already there. Platform, bus stop, kitchen, the hallway between classes: keep the earbuds in your pocket until the minute is up, then put them in and enjoy them. You are not giving anything up, only going second.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
What do your earbuds reliably drown out around you?
MORE IN GRATITUDE & PRESENCE
- Ride your bike with no destination once this summer. It’s the closest thing to flying you can do on a Tuesday.
- Fall asleep on a long car ride as a kid and wake up in your own bed. Somebody carried you in without waking you.
- The bus driver who knew your dog’s name was paying attention to your whole world.
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.