Gunshots! What Else Am I Ignoring?

It’s not until I’m walking around my neighborhood recording my thoughts on a Bluetooth headset, that I really register how often there is a huge booming sound of a gunshot. It happens so frequently that when I’m walking the dog, we both tune it out. How did this become normal?

I notice it while recording because I’m more sensitive to sounds that will disrupt the recording. Otherwise, I just walk with my thoughts and the gunshots don’t bother me at all. I’m barely aware of them.

Now that I’ve finally noticed, I do wonder who is firing and why it’s so often. But not enough to go investigate… yet.

I also wonder what else I’m tuning out. I should try being more mindful and really experience all the sights and sounds.

But I do generally think the tune-out, non-mindful adaptation is a good one. It’s good to tune things that are “normal” out so that you can tune into what you want to or what is abnormal and may present a threat.

Is that the problem with autism? I’ve heard it’s actually sensory overload. Maybe they are extremely “in the moment” but not in a good way that you can focus? Instead, they have extreme presence and notice everything. That would certainly be extremely overwhelming.

While it may be good to tune things out, it likely presents gigantic blind spots. The answers to some of our biggest questions and problems are probably all around us and will be obvious once we finally discover them, but we have trouble even perceiving the world.