The other day I wrote a post called “Regain Your Focus By Taking A Break” and my friend Jesse from The simple art of living simply left a comment on it that really struck a chord with me. He said that 2 years ago he started driving with the radio turned off in the car, which let him focus more on his driving and have some time to think about his day. Well, I got to thinking – I am not sure I have ever driven without the radio on, at least not for any length of time. So today, when I went out to run errands, I left the radio off…and wow, what a different way to drive!
With the radio off, I:
- Noticed scenery I had never seen before
- I really heard the car “work” and realized just how incredible it is
- I was better able to focus on the driving behavior of others
- I had time to think about my pending move, what still needed to be done, and what the future may bring
Normally I am so busy finding something good to listen to that all I do while driving is space out. Music, news, etc – it all becomes “filler” while driving, so the silence I had today in the car was quite refreshing. Will I always drive without the radio on? No way. I truly love listening to NPR or my favorite music while on the road, and it’s one of the only places I can sing at full volume without scaring small children. But I will definitely make it a point to do it quite often as I really appreciated the silence. So thank you, Jesse, for giving me something else to try!
Anytime my friend, anytime!
Driving with the radio off is great! When I started riding my bike to work, I listened to audio books on my iPod, but gave that up eventually too.
I almost feel like I’m more of a part of the road and the car/bike when I drive without the radio on.
What’s really crazy – turn it back on after about a month.
I once had a car without a radio and found I didn’t really miss it.
I love this post. Just last night I was writing about my own personal need to disconnect a bit. And I actually have a sentence in my post that reads “In the car, I rarely leave the radio off.” What are the odds I’d run across your post from almost 2 yrs ago the very next day?!?