Roots

"Maybe you are searching among the branches, for what only appears in the roots." - Rumi

So I've started listening to podcasts. Like, a whole heap of them.

Maybe it's purely nostalgic. The gentle hum of people talking through technology reminds me of Saturday afternoons sitting on the living room floor, soaking in the warm, trapped sunshine of our 90's house with the crackle of National Radio playing in the background while Dad ate salad sandwiches with his clicky jaw.

It seemed to be a sign of intelligence. While my natural choice at that age would have been to be somewhere else listening to beats and being entertained by the sounds of various instruments weaving together, in our house this was Dad's Saturday afternoon. The beep beep beep of the next hour coming in would herald another 45 minutes of news, and Dad would settle in for an afternoon nap on the couch. And a neighbour would be mowing their lawns. The kids next door would be nattering to each other in their backyard. And all this became my traditional Saturday afternoon.

And I think this quiet rhythm has found it's way back into my life, through podcasts - the new radio.

You see, until this moment,  had this habit of using up all my free time watching things.

Watching tv. Watching social media. Watching people. The latter feeling like less of a waste of time, but still, it's watching. So lately I've been investing in what I listen to in the hope that it will overtake the formidable television and the unquenchable social media.

And to my pleasant surprise, it has. 

Of course, different people will be attracted by different things. For me, the podcasts that have nestled their way into my 'subscribed' list include business, philosophy, old fashioned storytelling, and the occasional creative finding a new way to see the world. It's fascinating, it's eye-opening.

And it reminds me that I am now an adult and I like adult things. But most of all, it has enlightened me.

Instagram, Facebook and other online mediums now appear to me to be the leaves, the foliage. They are a colourful display of what people want to show about their lives. But podcasts, they are the roots, they are the words and ideals of a person. They show me a lot more about a creative process or a mindset, than I have ever been able to get out of social media. 

Words are turning out to be just as important as imagery. And I can't wait to see where this will take me.

Interested in what I listen to? Here are some of my faves:

Being Boss

Girlboss Radio

Lore

Louder Than Words Bookcast

Planted With Light Podcast

The Boredom Experiment

The Liturgists Podcast

The Moth

This American Life

Way Up North