Things of Beauty #39

Tiny twinkles of joy amidst the clutter

Does it feel noisy to you right now?

By which I mean, do you also have more than 80 unread messages in your personal inbox, the vast majority of which are ads for last-minute gift items or amazing ways to jumpstart the new year? Then there are the downloaded podcasts I haven't listened to, that audiobook I started on Spotify, oh—and that holiday e-book I was reading. And don't even get me started on all the newsletters I'm not keeping up with. Even my Google Drive is cluttered. I think one of those unread emails promised to help me do a digital detox...

It's a familiar feeling for me this time of year, though I haven't put my finger on exactly why. Maybe it's just that my university work quiets down, so I notice all this other clutter more. Maybe there is actually just more clutter (I'm looking at you—sales emails). Probably a little bit of both.

I'm trying to find a balance between frantically addressing all this digital noise and actually just ignoring it in service of quiet and rest. Haven't quite figured that one out yet.

Happiest of holidays to all of you! Above all, sending heaping doses of grace and peace (and perhaps a bit of quiet, if you'd also like that) your way this season.