Hootie and the Blowfish was my first concert ever and whenever I hear their music I know it’s going to be a good day! Thanks for encouraging simplicity and their first album, just turned it on ☺️👏
Yes! I’ve been wanting to return to the nineties too! When my kids were small and my marriage to their father was secure and everything was right with the world. I even wrote a song about it that I will share soon.
I think when the towers fell, the world went fell too and nothing was ever the same.
I'm not feeling as nostalgic about 1995 as you are. I was still in the middle of a lot of noise back then. We have a plaque in our kitchen that says "Let us be silent so we can hear the whisper of God". I heard Him whisper "Trust me". That was the beginning of having my eyes opened. I have a creator that cares for me, loves me and has the power to heal me. That opened my eyes to a life of gratitude, even for the challenges.
This beautiful reading has given me lots to think about Kelly. I could use a summer of silence too, or to redirect the way I connect to things that actually provide simplicity, serenity, and deep Satisfying connection. I live alone, I eat alone, I spend too much time alone. So the connections that I seek, although I have plenty from spiritual groups, close friends and daily fellowship meetings..I also seek ‘contact’ from the TV, Social media, for the illusion of daily connection. To give that up is difficult and scary. I have wanted to for a long time because it’s not fulfilling. Often it needlessly feeds my desire to know what’s coming next so I could be in control? Worry more? Prepare for the apocalypse?
I have been pondering the question What will I do for myself this summer ? So, this is right in line with it. Seeing more sunsets, really looking at nature, and prioritizing ‘other’ connections, which have become more distant.. I think will be the theme. The holier ones, often right in front of me, or beside me. Wishing you fulfilling silent and sacred adventures ahead!
I really understand the need for connection through social media and having a hard time giving it up. It’s often a connection with those faraway, which can be okay but it often opens the door to other things that Kelly mentioned, like controversy, endless ads, and addiction to scrolling and searching for some hidden solution to what ails us all. I think it must be by design which makes me want to quit cold turkey. My excuse is that I use it for my business. Let me know what you come up with and I’ll be paying attention to Kelly’s summer of silence. Thank you.
I was just telling my 17 year old there was a day when I longed to no longer be bored and now I long to BE bored! Discontent is the fruit of false stories we create … perhaps that is the beginning of wisdom..awakening to the realization that we set up the discontent ourselves ! I think I’m going to go ride in the car with the windows open now listing to the cars. Thank you for time travel . I needed it too!
Kelly, so here is your Walkman story! As I read, I nodded my head along. I would say in the last two months especially, I have felt completely oversaturated with information overload. My brain is tired. I've been thinking more about my youth, not just because of nostalgia, but because of exactly what you wrote about listening to an album on your Walkman--because it was ONE band and ONE album, I paid attention to the lyrics, to the syncopation, to the velvety or throaty vocals, to the guitar riffs and instrumental bridges (because they actually used real instruments instead of electronic replicas in the 90s).
Attention and time were focused, intentional. I miss it. I need it. I think we all do.
What you wrote today speaks into what has interestingly (?), sadly (?) become a radical response to the Information Age: walking away from it and deliberately turning off the noise.
I was appalled about a month ago when I was filling up gas in my SUV on the drive home from a writing conference at the University of Notre Dame. The pump included this large screen, which flashed like a strobe light between several different options: trivia, news, and weather. I mean, I thought, "Why do I need to click on a screen WHILE I'M FILLING UP THE GAS TANK?" Can't people wait two minutes without filling their minds with something? I looked for a way to turn it off, but there was none, so I decided to turn my head away and look at the sky--which was filling with storm clouds--before the pump clicked off.
How tragic that my children are growing up in a society that does not know the alternative to stimulation. As a highly sensitive person, I feel it is vital to preserve my inner sanctuary, and yet I am continually being asked (expected) to add MORE, MORE, MORE to my life, mostly in the way of appointments and paperwork for health care, education, extracurricular activities, etc.
What I want is a return to the days when I rode my bike to the neighborhood pool, backpack filled with a water bottle, granola bar, Babysitters Club paperback, Walkman with Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl album, maybe fifty cents, a beach towel, sunscreen, and sunglasses. I want to lounge at the pool and do nothing, be in no hurry, not worry about what's going on in the world or how to find out. But then again, I was a kid. And it was a different time.
Thanks for reminding me that silence is not frivolous but necessary.
Ah yes, the holy hum beneath the static—the divine whisper muffled by HBO Max and 3-second reels. I’ve been practicing my own ‘monastic rebellion’ against the algorithm lately, choosing one book, one friend, one slow walk at a time. You’re right: the sacred doesn’t shout. It waits in the field with the turkeys, bored with our binge-watching, beckoning us with the silence of hay bales and forgotten songs. May your 1995 be rich with presence and wild turkey liturgies.
So. I will remember to remember this after this particular season is over. (since my calendar is woefully over-packed with events and company) However, I CAN and I will make the most of the noise, and the revelry, and the people inside it. Having just lost my precious brother, I am acutely aware of how important it is to take every. single. minute, as sacred. Even the noise.
I have been burning through PTO as I left my job in the last few weeks. Taking vacation I didn't want to take until some other time this year, not knowing when the "vacation" will end, hoping it does. This forced time off has not altered my time in front of a computer or the exhaustion of putting in full days of effort to type things up and communicate with others who don't seem to have time for me. It is different though. I've not been obligated to any meetings (including interviews unfortunately) and I've not needed or bothered to look at much else digitally than the most basic things that get me through ATS optimization of my resume to job descriptions. I have had a lot of time to reflect. I have been picking up in scripture study and pondering power beyond my own that I want to connect with. The noise is...less. I wish it was a calming effect. It's at least a reflective one. I recall the 90's and the lack of noise. I recall boredom and only needing a few things to satisfy my interests any given day. A few dollars in my pocket, some good tunes on the radio, and little to no brain power needed for the work I did in school or making those few bucks each day. For me the "freedom" feelings came from driving. I'd cruise until I was lost then turn around and find my way home. I loved back roads with precarious turns and exciting straight aways. $10 got me a full tank and my little 3 cylinder Geo Metro got me so many hundreds of miles before I had to think about getting another tank. It was simpler...I was not as stressed. I don't "miss" the young age or the lack of an eternal partner as I was always pining over when growing up and having someone would come to fruition in my life. It is difficult to hold to such things. My ability to pause; to drop noise; is diminished. I need to think on ways to get back some freedom in my heart while I must also actively live the life I have. Very tough process indeed.
Hootie and the Blowfish was my first concert ever and whenever I hear their music I know it’s going to be a good day! Thanks for encouraging simplicity and their first album, just turned it on ☺️👏
Love it! Let her cry, Mitch, let her cry! 😊
So true, simplicity . What would it be like to go back 30, 40 or even 75 yrs ago when life seemed so much simpler. I love what you wrote Kelly.
Thank you, Rae. 🙏 I hope it inspires you to find a few more pockets of silence in your day.
But, can you even find a Walkman anymore?! A great exercise, indeed, Kelly. Love to hear more about it as summer rolls on.
That would be a tall order! But with a little will power, you can turn your phone into one. 😂
Yes! I’ve been wanting to return to the nineties too! When my kids were small and my marriage to their father was secure and everything was right with the world. I even wrote a song about it that I will share soon.
I think when the towers fell, the world went fell too and nothing was ever the same.
I'm not feeling as nostalgic about 1995 as you are. I was still in the middle of a lot of noise back then. We have a plaque in our kitchen that says "Let us be silent so we can hear the whisper of God". I heard Him whisper "Trust me". That was the beginning of having my eyes opened. I have a creator that cares for me, loves me and has the power to heal me. That opened my eyes to a life of gratitude, even for the challenges.
This beautiful reading has given me lots to think about Kelly. I could use a summer of silence too, or to redirect the way I connect to things that actually provide simplicity, serenity, and deep Satisfying connection. I live alone, I eat alone, I spend too much time alone. So the connections that I seek, although I have plenty from spiritual groups, close friends and daily fellowship meetings..I also seek ‘contact’ from the TV, Social media, for the illusion of daily connection. To give that up is difficult and scary. I have wanted to for a long time because it’s not fulfilling. Often it needlessly feeds my desire to know what’s coming next so I could be in control? Worry more? Prepare for the apocalypse?
I have been pondering the question What will I do for myself this summer ? So, this is right in line with it. Seeing more sunsets, really looking at nature, and prioritizing ‘other’ connections, which have become more distant.. I think will be the theme. The holier ones, often right in front of me, or beside me. Wishing you fulfilling silent and sacred adventures ahead!
I really understand the need for connection through social media and having a hard time giving it up. It’s often a connection with those faraway, which can be okay but it often opens the door to other things that Kelly mentioned, like controversy, endless ads, and addiction to scrolling and searching for some hidden solution to what ails us all. I think it must be by design which makes me want to quit cold turkey. My excuse is that I use it for my business. Let me know what you come up with and I’ll be paying attention to Kelly’s summer of silence. Thank you.
I just loved this, Kelly. I crave this kind of simplicity and silence. I have been working towards this as well. Thanks for a refreshing message!!
I was just telling my 17 year old there was a day when I longed to no longer be bored and now I long to BE bored! Discontent is the fruit of false stories we create … perhaps that is the beginning of wisdom..awakening to the realization that we set up the discontent ourselves ! I think I’m going to go ride in the car with the windows open now listing to the cars. Thank you for time travel . I needed it too!
Kelly, so here is your Walkman story! As I read, I nodded my head along. I would say in the last two months especially, I have felt completely oversaturated with information overload. My brain is tired. I've been thinking more about my youth, not just because of nostalgia, but because of exactly what you wrote about listening to an album on your Walkman--because it was ONE band and ONE album, I paid attention to the lyrics, to the syncopation, to the velvety or throaty vocals, to the guitar riffs and instrumental bridges (because they actually used real instruments instead of electronic replicas in the 90s).
Attention and time were focused, intentional. I miss it. I need it. I think we all do.
What you wrote today speaks into what has interestingly (?), sadly (?) become a radical response to the Information Age: walking away from it and deliberately turning off the noise.
I was appalled about a month ago when I was filling up gas in my SUV on the drive home from a writing conference at the University of Notre Dame. The pump included this large screen, which flashed like a strobe light between several different options: trivia, news, and weather. I mean, I thought, "Why do I need to click on a screen WHILE I'M FILLING UP THE GAS TANK?" Can't people wait two minutes without filling their minds with something? I looked for a way to turn it off, but there was none, so I decided to turn my head away and look at the sky--which was filling with storm clouds--before the pump clicked off.
How tragic that my children are growing up in a society that does not know the alternative to stimulation. As a highly sensitive person, I feel it is vital to preserve my inner sanctuary, and yet I am continually being asked (expected) to add MORE, MORE, MORE to my life, mostly in the way of appointments and paperwork for health care, education, extracurricular activities, etc.
What I want is a return to the days when I rode my bike to the neighborhood pool, backpack filled with a water bottle, granola bar, Babysitters Club paperback, Walkman with Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl album, maybe fifty cents, a beach towel, sunscreen, and sunglasses. I want to lounge at the pool and do nothing, be in no hurry, not worry about what's going on in the world or how to find out. But then again, I was a kid. And it was a different time.
Thanks for reminding me that silence is not frivolous but necessary.
There is indeed holiness everywhere around us waiting to be noticed. Thank you, Kelly, for a beautiful essay.
Ah yes, the holy hum beneath the static—the divine whisper muffled by HBO Max and 3-second reels. I’ve been practicing my own ‘monastic rebellion’ against the algorithm lately, choosing one book, one friend, one slow walk at a time. You’re right: the sacred doesn’t shout. It waits in the field with the turkeys, bored with our binge-watching, beckoning us with the silence of hay bales and forgotten songs. May your 1995 be rich with presence and wild turkey liturgies.
I was born that year and probably added some disturbance, a wholesome disturbance.
Your posts about finding the sacred in the everyday (interspersed with you subtle humor) are invaluable to me. THANK YOU KELLY!
So. I will remember to remember this after this particular season is over. (since my calendar is woefully over-packed with events and company) However, I CAN and I will make the most of the noise, and the revelry, and the people inside it. Having just lost my precious brother, I am acutely aware of how important it is to take every. single. minute, as sacred. Even the noise.
I have been burning through PTO as I left my job in the last few weeks. Taking vacation I didn't want to take until some other time this year, not knowing when the "vacation" will end, hoping it does. This forced time off has not altered my time in front of a computer or the exhaustion of putting in full days of effort to type things up and communicate with others who don't seem to have time for me. It is different though. I've not been obligated to any meetings (including interviews unfortunately) and I've not needed or bothered to look at much else digitally than the most basic things that get me through ATS optimization of my resume to job descriptions. I have had a lot of time to reflect. I have been picking up in scripture study and pondering power beyond my own that I want to connect with. The noise is...less. I wish it was a calming effect. It's at least a reflective one. I recall the 90's and the lack of noise. I recall boredom and only needing a few things to satisfy my interests any given day. A few dollars in my pocket, some good tunes on the radio, and little to no brain power needed for the work I did in school or making those few bucks each day. For me the "freedom" feelings came from driving. I'd cruise until I was lost then turn around and find my way home. I loved back roads with precarious turns and exciting straight aways. $10 got me a full tank and my little 3 cylinder Geo Metro got me so many hundreds of miles before I had to think about getting another tank. It was simpler...I was not as stressed. I don't "miss" the young age or the lack of an eternal partner as I was always pining over when growing up and having someone would come to fruition in my life. It is difficult to hold to such things. My ability to pause; to drop noise; is diminished. I need to think on ways to get back some freedom in my heart while I must also actively live the life I have. Very tough process indeed.
Yes, it feels like I am just now walking out of church filled with blessings. Thank you.