When is the last time you sat and actively listened to an album, or even a playlist? No not while you’re driving, or cooking or dancing...when is the last time you sat, still and listened, nothing else?
I’ve been working on one main book in the background of everything else during quarantine and now that I’ve finished it, I honestly feel a little lost. Reading Hendrik’s diary has been some of the most calming moments I have had during this quarantine.
Early on in the diary Hendrik mentions that “young people these days” don’t know how to sit and just listen. We don’t know how to listen and appreciate music because we can’t hold still, we have to be doing something. Since I read that particular portion this concept has stuck with me. I’ve become more conscious of my own listening habits and I’ve realized....He’s right, I don’t sit and simply listen to music. I don’t even sit and simply listen to a book, or watch a tv show. I’m always doing something else at the same time.
Now there are arguments for both sides,I’m sure a lot of people probably mostly in the generation before me, were told that “idle hands are the devils plaything”. I’m pretty sure my own mother told me that when I was a kid. Which is true to a point, being idle can get you into trouble. Keeping busy is good, the ability to multi-task is not inherently bad.
However, Hendrik has a point, things have become so fast paced. We don’t sit quietly and listen to a new album, we listen to music when we’re driving, cleaning, working out, cooking. We go to concerts or to a club. But we don’t just sit and listen and let the music wash over us in our own home.
Ironically, I have been working on Hendrik’s diary the entire time I’ve been in quarantine, and my main quarantine revelation correlates...we take life too fast, we don’t “stop and smell the roses”. We’re constantly rushing to this meeting or that appointment, we’re workaholics but most people hate their jobs.
Reading about a man stuck in an old folks home when he has so much life left in him, felt like having a kindred spirit with me through this ordeal, albeit a kindred spirit who could actually go places.
Please don’t get me wrong, I am all for hard work, bettering yourself and achieving your goals, getting to your dream life. But, if we’re constantly racing towards that dream life, what happens to the life that’s happening now? It’s passing us by, we’re stressed out, overweight and dying inside. Exhausted, burnt out and over it all.
Last weekend I actually took Hendrik’s advice. I grabbed my headphones and silenced my phone. I laid down on my bed, closed my eyes and started some music...For the next half hour I did nothing, I didn’t meditate, I didn’t address the to-do lists in my mind, I didn’t open my eyes or touch my phone. I just listened. That 30 minutes was the most restorative half hour I have had in the last few months.
I encourage everyone to read Hendrik’s secret diary, especially now. His story made me eternally grateful for what I have, especially for my youth and the opportunities still to come. For the ability to have time to change. To get back to the important things in life, things like family, joy and appreciation.
“The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 ½ years old” by Hendrik Groen
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Secret_Diary_of_Hendrik_Groen/ypfUDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
I’ve been working on one main book in the background of everything else during quarantine and now that I’ve finished it, I honestly feel a little lost. Reading Hendrik’s diary has been some of the most calming moments I have had during this quarantine.
Early on in the diary Hendrik mentions that “young people these days” don’t know how to sit and just listen. We don’t know how to listen and appreciate music because we can’t hold still, we have to be doing something. Since I read that particular portion this concept has stuck with me. I’ve become more conscious of my own listening habits and I’ve realized....He’s right, I don’t sit and simply listen to music. I don’t even sit and simply listen to a book, or watch a tv show. I’m always doing something else at the same time.
Now there are arguments for both sides,I’m sure a lot of people probably mostly in the generation before me, were told that “idle hands are the devils plaything”. I’m pretty sure my own mother told me that when I was a kid. Which is true to a point, being idle can get you into trouble. Keeping busy is good, the ability to multi-task is not inherently bad.
However, Hendrik has a point, things have become so fast paced. We don’t sit quietly and listen to a new album, we listen to music when we’re driving, cleaning, working out, cooking. We go to concerts or to a club. But we don’t just sit and listen and let the music wash over us in our own home.
Ironically, I have been working on Hendrik’s diary the entire time I’ve been in quarantine, and my main quarantine revelation correlates...we take life too fast, we don’t “stop and smell the roses”. We’re constantly rushing to this meeting or that appointment, we’re workaholics but most people hate their jobs.
Reading about a man stuck in an old folks home when he has so much life left in him, felt like having a kindred spirit with me through this ordeal, albeit a kindred spirit who could actually go places.
Please don’t get me wrong, I am all for hard work, bettering yourself and achieving your goals, getting to your dream life. But, if we’re constantly racing towards that dream life, what happens to the life that’s happening now? It’s passing us by, we’re stressed out, overweight and dying inside. Exhausted, burnt out and over it all.
Last weekend I actually took Hendrik’s advice. I grabbed my headphones and silenced my phone. I laid down on my bed, closed my eyes and started some music...For the next half hour I did nothing, I didn’t meditate, I didn’t address the to-do lists in my mind, I didn’t open my eyes or touch my phone. I just listened. That 30 minutes was the most restorative half hour I have had in the last few months.
I encourage everyone to read Hendrik’s secret diary, especially now. His story made me eternally grateful for what I have, especially for my youth and the opportunities still to come. For the ability to have time to change. To get back to the important things in life, things like family, joy and appreciation.
“The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen 83 ½ years old” by Hendrik Groen
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Secret_Diary_of_Hendrik_Groen/ypfUDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
Comments
Post a Comment