I’m reading ODE Magazine’s latest issue which is dedicated to the topic of “Silence”. It is brilliant in concept, because it is something that effects us all, but we are rarely aware of the effects that noise has upon us – until it’s turned off!
I am blessed, AND cursed with wonderful hearing. It’s a blessing to be able to hear well: the ability to discern tone, inflection, patterns, accents and from very low to very high pitch. My partner Tim describes my ability as akin to a “wolf”, but alas, it is also a miserable thing. I hear every car on the main street 1/2 mile away to much further; aircraft that goes by, every dog from miles around that barks, the refrigerator chilling down, electrical sounds, and at night, every snore(!! – even my own!!!)… In fact, my method of meditation utililzes sound: I follow every sound that comes into my space – and of course, do my best not to judge it, just observe it.
What gives people the right to ride noisy motorcycles that wake up hundreds of thousands of people as they speed in the city by at night? What gives people the right to play music (generally the bass sounds are the loudest) that makes my heart attempt to join the pattern? The military officers I frequently complain to about the change in practice patterns on their “Thunderbolt” aircraft don’t seem to care that it feels like I too, am living in a war zone. I see the use of this noise as a power play – that with their sound power, they are all in some way controlling others. Loud and continuous noise has been used as torture. When I don’t deliberately distract myself, or close my windows on lovely days, it can become very miserable for me.
Nature can also been loud – all you have to do is sit outside after the cicada bugs have hatched; or a thunderstorm, waterfalls, waves crashing on the beach…. but of course these natural sounds don’t have the same effect on us, do they? They are “natural”.
Have you ever gone out in nature trying to get away from civilization and noise, only to find that noise pollution finds you anyway? Recently, when Tim & I were in Maui in this magnificent park (Ios Needle), it was so disconcerting to be in the presence of a person who thought it acceptable to allow his dogs to be barking constantly, destroying the peace that would have been so meaningful to others & myself. I was not the only one complaining. I think of myself as a non-violent person, but I was conjuring up some violent method to shut up those dogs, and let the owner know what I thought of his insensitivity to others!
Isn’t it nice to sometimes just shut off everything – music and news, and my books on tape, and just bathe in silence? All I can say is, the person who invented the earplugs that I rely on deserves the Nobel Peace Prize! Is that why they say: Silence is Golden?