Loud

Today was one of those days I can’t fake it anymore. I grew up here, I tolerated it, got used to it. But less and less so now.

Everything—and everyone—is too loud. Loud not just in terms of decibels, but attention. Everything, crawling their fingernails into your face, just for a second of your eyeballs, a slice of your mind.

People speaking on phone for the whole bus to hear.
Fast-moving screens, junk food media literally everywhere.
Smells, perfumes, deodorants, scents poking up your nose.
Crowds of people, jostling, elbows stabbing, fighting, yapping.
Food everywhere - sweet, sweeter, sweetest, with some spicy.

Days like this I just want to retreat into a deep, dark cave, where the only thing I can hear is my breath, feel my abdomen rising and falling, hear only peace, see only darkness, taste only my own saliva.

Everything is just too much.

I want to be elsewhere where people are quiet.
Where quiet is the norm, respected, practised, adhered.

I think I know a place…