Breathe.

There was a time when I had the tangled cords, and I had it bad. It was noticeable, you could tell. Sometimes it would get a little better, but then would come right back stronger than ever. And I dreaded pulling that wad of wire out in public. It was a hot mess. It was frustrating, to say the least.

I did a lot of searching. I’m not a Full Lotus kind of guy, but I went inside. Got really focused, entered into the Zone. And that’s when it happened…

Once I found the Bud Tie, things improved in my life. Right away, things started to change. I felt lighter, full of freedom. Freedom from de Tangling.

Observations

In the life cycle of your typical earbud day, things get taken for granted. Like all the times that your earbuds are safely tucked away, unnoticed, unused. Even like much of the time you are actually using them. Listening, you’re tuned in to what you hear. The equipment is a delivery vehicle, unobtrusive, out of the way. This is all as it should be.

• Until, suddenly, the cord gets caught on the bottom of your jacket or sleeve and pulls against your ear. You realize the cord should be shorter and it wouldn’t get in the way like that.
• Until you reach for your earbuds and they’ve become a nasty puzzle, and you have to untangle them, wasting time. Frustrating.
• Until it’s time to put them away, and there’s always that nagging feeling that they might get messed up again.
• Until you wish it was simpler and easier.

Then there are the little joys of life. Like when things happen like you like them to.

• When you realize your cord is too long, so you give it a few extra wraps and slip the plug back through the hole. Two inches shorter per wrap. Now your cord is the perfect length, just like you like it.
• When you reach in your pocket and grab your earbuds by the Bud Tie. You pull out the end, flip it down, and watch it unwrap with the magic of gravity. Quick, and easy, just like you like it.
• When you’re done listening. A quick wrap the long way, a few winds the short way, plug the prong in and you have a secure unit. Control & Order, just like you like it.

It’s the little things that give us pleasure. Sometimes it’s the little things that cause aggravation.

Cords. They giveth, and they taketh away. I’m glad I’ve found a way to coexist with them peacefully now.