Listen to Nothing So You can Think of Something

Today I dropped my son at his school. The road in front of the school that leads to the highway is about 2KM, and it takes about 30 minutes to drive through it. I usually listen to podcast on world history. Somehow, I decided to switch off Spotify and listen to the silence. Initially the silence was deafening. My mind was all over the place, I was thinking about my schedule, my work, exercises, blog topics etc. As if someone was using a remote control who keep changing channels in my mind. I was fighting the urge to switch on Spotify again. Eventually those thoughts slowly died down, and new ideas and solutions sprouting in my mind. I was able to hold on to those thoughts longer. This experience is similar to my earlier experience of running without listening to my headphones. When I was growing up, I used to get bored as there were little things to stimulate to my mind. Now with the handphone and internet, I hardly have the chance to get bored. However, I do not give my mind a chance…