Photo credit Eric Fischl
I'm very noise-sensitive. For most of the time, our home is very, very quiet. I do admit that when I hear music that I especially like, I tend to crank up the volume and, I am a devoted user of my Apple earbuds. In fact, just last week, I had two teeth extracted and used loud music through my beloved buds to distract me. But, in general, I enjoy quiet and find outside noise to be disturbing. Years ago, I discovered something interesting about noise and about how to overcome the disturbance. I found an article in New York Magazine, written by a woman who shared my very same idiosyncrasy. Also noise-sensitive, she oftentimes would become crazed when she heard even the smallest amount of sound that did not emanate from her own apartment, one she had recently leased, in Manhattan.
Night after night, the author experienced angst over an unidentifiable noise. Carefully checking nooks and crannies in her new apartment, she was unable to locate the exact source and her anxiety over the predicament continued to rise. Try as she might, she could not explain the cause of her growing hostility to whatever or whoever was producing the noise and she steadily became angrier and more anxious with the arrival of each evening. The joy of being in a new home diminished as quickly as it had arrived. I identified with all of this. While I was never bothered by "city sounds" as were my country life friends, the lowest levels of sounds beyond my control drove me mad.
Naturally, there was a point to the article. Just as there will be to this one. The author had a lesson to teach. One about turning something bad and annoying into something good and acceptable. One that I have referenced on many an occasion. A technique that I have used, and in my healthcare profession, taught, to a host of anxious people. The "noise" that she heard, the one that annoyed and angered her, she was soon to discover, came from the theater that was housed on the ground floor of her apartment building. Each night, during a performance, the rousing sound of applause, clapping and shouting, found its way up into her space. Of course! Bravo! The sound was identified and immediately became acceptable and joyous. No longer was she bothered by it. No further annoyance or angst. Things turned around in her mind. Problem solved.
I was not "disappointed" in the results of our recent presidential election. I predicted the outcome during the inauguration of Mr. Biden. I recall telling my husband that Trump will "run again" and "win". To this, I was resolved. The January 6th events clearly showed how ugly things were already in this country and the next four years only served to heighten the hate and discord. So, in my estimation, the choice of leader would naturally match the mentality of the people. How could it not? Sure, I was angered like half of the voters in the country were. And sure, I am fearful but.....I have turned it all around. I learned a great lesson from having read the magazine article about the New York woman and her new love for the noise that had once bothered her so much. Once she located the source, she was not bothered. A bad noise became a good one.
The past week has been a good one. I love a good laugh, have a great sense of humor. Our president-elect has not let me down yet. He's doing a great job of selecting his loyalist cabinet members. Each selection is more of a joke than the next. Who doesn't enjoy a good circus? This is fabulous for those of us who relish a great show. It gets better every day and I look forward to hearing about the next person to enter the ring under the "Big Top" (that's my new phrase for the White House by the way).
Oh, the lesson. I've turned the bad noise into good fun and it's so much easier to deal with it. This is the most entertainment I have had in a long time and I'm savoring every minute so far. Please Mr. Trump, please appoint RFK to some very high healthcare position. He's right up there with those who have already been promised jobs and let's face it, the "worms" in his brain will make for many, many a good laugh over the next years.
Turn it around. Don't be mad. Be happy. This noise is not in your control so sit back, relax and have a few good laughs!
