June was a hectic month. It was a good month and a lot of good things happened, but it was hectic. One of the things I didn’t like was the fact that I didn’t get a chance to keep up with blog posts. This is my first post since the beginning of the month! I didn’t realize it had been that long. Perhaps I should be more disciplined but I know that no matter how hard I tried to be that way, it would last for only a short time.

Actually, it’s not a question of discipline. I like writing for the blog and normally I do that at least once or twice a week. Lately, I simply have not had the opportunity—too much on my mind and my agenda. I just took on too many projects. What are the words to that song—“Summertime and the livin’ is easy”? That never seems to happen with me. Summer is always a time of activity and places to go and things to do. Winter is the time of less activity and more time, long evenings and snow-bound days. I can get a lot of writing done in the winter.

One of the things that has taken a lot of time lately is my decision to get my writing in order. I have books, finished or half finished or needing revision that I decided to get in order, finish and publish. What I’ll do with them after that, I’m not sure. That part will have to take care of itself.

Another time-user is my interest in the subject of peace. I’ve always had that interest. My first blog was called the Peace Puzzle and I worked on that intermittently for a year or so. I didn’t feel it was accomplishing anything and gave it up to concentrate more on doing a peace newsletter for my church. That seemed to draw a little more attention and I felt I was contributing more. Now I feel I should spend more time bringing the subject to the attention of additional people and I’ve concentrated more on reading and writing about peace, what it is and what it can mean—hence my laxness on the blog.

What all this is going to lead to, I’m not sure. Anyway, it’s going somewhere. I feel that’s true. I understand this is a time of change so I suppose I’m right in step with it. I’ll find out, I’m sure, but I’ll also have to find time to pay more attention to writing for the blog despite hectic months and times of change. The blog is important, too, and a source of relaxation.

Yesterday I put a CD in the computer while I was working. It was a CD of Celtic music that I had not heard for a while. I enjoyed listening to the old songs that evoked pleasant memories. I enjoyed them for a while—and then they began to bother me. They interfered. I stopped the CD and took it out of the drive before it was finished. I continued with my work but without the music.

Later in the day, I reflected on that. My habits have changed. Years ago I liked music with me whatever I was doing. It played as I drove in the car or worked in my shop or in the house. When doing outside projects, I managed to have a radio playing if at all possible. When that ceased to be a priority for me I’m not sure. I spent some years wandering in a camper and during that time I learned to do without TV. I still had a radio and I took care to have tapes or CDs handy. Gradually those began to be less important; eventually, I ceased playing them altogether.

I didn’t think much about that while it was occurring. It was merely something that happened. Habits change. Then, after I shut the CD down yesterday, I thought about it some more. It’s more than a changed habit. The fact is, I’ve learned to like silence. I’ve learned to prefer it. I no longer have TV. I normally don’t play the radio or other sources of noise. I enjoy my days in complete silence. I am sure there are those who will say that is good and others who will say it is bad. I don’t know if it’s either. I don’t care. It simply is.

I still like music and enjoy going to hear live performances when that’s possible. Occasionally, I’ll put on a CD and just sit down and listen. I suppose the difference between my attitude toward music now and what it used to be is that of need. Some sort of music, noise, distraction—all of those—was something I needed a few years ago. Maybe I wanted it to stop me from thinking. I’m not sure. At any rate, I don’t seem to need that anymore. There’s a certain sense of freedom in that—something that I no longer need. I wonder how many more things there are that I don’t need. I’ll have to think about that. Now that I don’t have the TV, the radio or the CD player to stop me from thinking, I can do that.