The reason for the noise is the endless stream of information pouring in through all five channels at once. Even sitting here writing this, there's the sound of my son playing on his blanket and squirming around on the floor like a squid and singing in in experimental shrieks. and my wife on the phone giving advice to her sister.

But noise is not just sound. There is also the visual distractions of the content hidden on every other tab in my browser and window on my desktop. My curiosity of what I might find on those pages gets the better of me every few sentences.

All of this seems inevitable, and sometime uncontrollable for a young father of a new family in a small house. However, it doesn't need to hinder what is happening inside. Life's volume knob is always set at ten, but between the static and the flipping of the channels, peace can still break through, and I can still follow through on this idea.

The circumstance of life don't need to change for me to change. Instead of trying to block out the noise, hide from it, or try to shut it up, I can embrace it, let it harmonize and let the music come through.

I'm learning to let the people around me come closer. Rather than trying to ignore the noise and distractions, I'm learning to let it be part of the work itself. By embracing my surroundings instead of trying to change or avoid them, I'll be able to do more of what I love in whatever circumstances in which I find myself.

By indulging in a few distractions as the come up, I'm able to have the mental endurance to complete my work, and to finish what I begin. I'm undertaking an enormous challenge. I don't know how it will look in the end or how the middle will be, but by accepting the first steps and getting started the rest will take shape with time.

Patience will not be optional or simply virtuous in learning to live with the noise. It will be the axle that supports and balances the whole load.