Stephan Kunze, in his newsletter zensounds, writes about the joy is not putting in your headphones 24/7.

These days, I am walking through the city, surrounded by traffic noise, overhearing snippets of phone calls, eavesdropping on random conversations between people who are unknown to me.

I am walking through the woods, hearing my footsteps cutting through birdsong and leaves rustling in the wind. Suddenly, my dog and I are both looking up to a pair of cranes, moving through the sky. Then we look at each other and move on, having shared this moment.

The composer John Cage told us to “not discriminate against sounds.”

I find myself doing this more and more too. Mostly in the car when music or podcasts add to the cacophony. Sometimes I need to let my brain rest and not be in a constant state of active listening.