How a Notebook Helped Me Find My Quiet
How do you find silence in a world overflowing with noise? The key to peace of mind is closer than you think. I spent a long time searching for mine – until I realized it had been within reach all along.
What Grandpa Kazik Doesn’t Know Won’t Hurt Him
When I was little, I never went anywhere without a notebook and a pen. Every ten-złoty bill from Grandpa “for chocolate” went straight into new stationery. My parents would throw up their hands – “why can’t you be like normal kids and buy a bag of candy?” They tried to lecture Grandpa, but he just smiled and kept secretly funding my obsession, insisting to everyone that one day I’d become a writer. I became a copywriter, but Grandpa Kazik doesn’t need to know everything.
Diary of a Tiny Playwright
As soon as I learned to write, I started documenting my days in a giant notebook with a lion on the cover. I was convinced that anyone who saw that fierce lion would be too scared to peek inside. Every entry was marked with the universal date “today,” because as a kid I hadn’t quite grasped that time actually moves forward. I remember the feeling of sitting at a noisy school table, the chaos around me fading into a blur, because all that mattered was that one quiet moment with my notebook.
I remember the feeling of sitting at a noisy school table, the chaos around me fading into a blur, because all that mattered was that one quiet moment with my notebook.
Trapped in Productivity
As I got older, I developed a harmless little obsession with taking notes. I also finally understood the concept of time – and, like most of us, took it way too seriously. I tested every method imaginable to make time neat and manageable: classic calendars, undated planners, bullet journals, and all the digital systems that promised life control and maybe, if I was lucky, world domination.
Peace and Quiet – Sounds Nice, What’s That?
Back then, I didn’t realize I wasn’t chasing control – I was chasing that tiny, magical key to stillness. But the world kept getting louder, notifications multiplied, and time seemed to sprint away faster every year. We humans built a strange paradox for ourselves: we crave peace, yet can’t sit still. We’ve grown so used to background noise that real silence makes us nervous.
We humans built a strange paradox for ourselves: we crave peace, yet can’t sit still
My Attempt at Becoming a Wellness Guru
At some point, I decided to take it seriously and try every “morning routine” the internet ever invented. Sunrise yoga (preferably on a chic rooftop), guided meditation (to the cheerful shriek of the first morning cuckoo), warm water with apple cider vinegar (plus a pinch of whatever I found in the kitchen, to “reset my aura” and apparently my digestive system), a cold shower (over my dead body!)... All of it set to a soundtrack of dramatic yawns and existential dread: What am I even doing? I was running in circles, trying to catch my own tail, thinking that maybe if I did, I’d finally stop.
I Open My Notebook and I’m Home
Flipping through old journals, I remembered that little girl in the school cafeteria and realized her secret was beautifully simple. One thing hasn’t changed in all those years: I never go anywhere without my notebook. It’s the first thing I unpack at my desk, and if I forget it, I feel like I left home half-dressed. I reach for it every morning, right after the first sip of coffee. And what do I write? Everything. My plan for the day. Grocery lists. Absurd quotes from friends. That I was supposed to go to the gym yesterday but the trees were too pretty, so I went for a walk instead. Lovely nonsense.
One thing hasn’t changed in all those years: I never go anywhere without my notebook. It’s the first thing I unpack at my desk, and if I forget it, I feel like I left home half-dressed.
Paper: A Simple Cure for Overstimulation
That little realization made me notice something bigger: I’m wired for analog, especially paper. I scribble notes in book margins. I color kids’ coloring books because my inner child deserves attention too. I keep a Very Ugly Notebook where I give myself bonus points for bravery whenever I draw something Truly Very Ugly. I write tiny letters to strangers, fold them into paper cranes, and leave them in parks, because maybe someone out there really needs a kind word today. Mystery solved – I found the magic key. All these small, paper-made rituals are my moments of quiet.
The World Won’t End Because of One Wobbly Line
Maybe that’s why more and more people are returning to paper. For me, opening a notebook feels like taking a deep breath between notifications. You don’t need a master plan to see if it works. My habit started by accident: I just kept a notebook nearby, with a pen tucked inside. And if your inner child secretly misses drawing but is too embarrassed to admit it – give it some crayons. Carry a sketchbook with you until one day you find the courage to draw a crooked, blood-red line. I promise you, it will be a beautiful, wild, wonderfully freeing line.
Author: Lena Pilarczyk
Images: Kasia Fus
