Curate Your Life

Apparently, Oprah Winfrey doesn’t listen to the radio.  She discussed this with a guest on Super Soul Sunday, where she interviews the latest, greatest spiritual, mindfulness, and wellbeing gurus.  She and her guest agreed that they always request that the radio be turned off in any car they are in because they don’t want the energy of the radio to influence theirs.  At first, I thought this was one of those ideas like how Steve Jobs always wore the same outfit so he didn’t waste his energy choosing what to wear.  I can disregard those suggestions because I have enough spare brain capacity to pick out new outfits because my brain’s not churning out the next iPad or whatever.

But I’ve tried it for a few days and I like it.  Just turn the radio off.  About half the time, I’m listening to a podcast or playlist that I’ve chosen, but random radio noise does infiltrate the system.  So I pulled the plug for a few days.  The first thing I noticed was how quiet my car was (thanks, Lexus).  And then I realized that even doing short jaunts around town, I was much calmer without any radio distractions whatsoever.  I love to change my mood with music and I’m not ready to turn it off for good, but it got me thinking about how I could do a better job curating what flows into my life.

Webster’s defines curator as one who has the care or superintendence of something. That’s me.  That’s you.  For our lives.  If you get bummed out by Facebook, stop looking at it.  If the tenor of politics this season is getting you down, turn it off and decide when and how you’ll get your information.  I was so disturbed by the epic violence of the season premiere of one of my guilty pleasures — the Walking Dead — that I might have to unplug there, too.

If my life was a well-curated museum, how would it look and feel?  Some things I might like, but decide not to have around.  Things that annoy or distress me would be deep in a closet or basement.  And the vast majority of time, I’d be walking through a well-designed, thoughtfully curated selection of ideas, people, products, and energy that increase my wellbeing.   This idea fits right in with my sort and purge from last week.  I’ve got to clear out space and get rid of things, obligations, commitments that are holding me captive so I can make room for ideas, experiences, and habits that set me free.

It’s worth trying.

By the way, this photo is from an art project I did at a museum this week as part of my five day challenge to do something new everyday.  It was free…and they had crafts!  More on that to follow.