Here thou seest how our Lord calleth thee, and all others that will hearken to Him. And what hindereth thee that thou canst neither see nor hear Him? Soothly there is so much din and noise in thy heart of vain thoughts and fleshly desires, that thou canst neither hear Him nor see Him? Therefore put away those unquiet noises, and destroy the love of sin and vanity, and bring into thy heart the love of virtues and full charity, and then shalt thou hear thy Lord speak to thee. (John Climacus)

The din certainly includes anxiety and fear. Envy generates quite a noise. Pride can be the loudest of all. These should be put away.

But I still recall a summer afternoon at a Lake Michigan beach when a cacophony of traffic, conversation, yells, whoops, and a wide range of boom box music struck me as the most beautiful symphony.

The divide between vanity and virtue can be slight. It depends a great deal on context and intention, especially our awareness of God's presence and our openness to God.