Houseguests here from New Hampshire remarked on how quiet it is here. I had just noticed recently how many cars I can hear at 7:00 in the morning as I walk around the fields behind my house. I don't see them, but they fill the air with their distant swoosh as they pass. I wonder how often we experience total silence? Jet noise, diesel and combustion engines, radio, television, human voices, electronic hums, beeps, whistles, music and ring tones pervade every corner of our existence.
There is a gully in the woods beyond our property line with a stream at the bottom. It is possible to experience an illusion of total solitude down there, partly because the high surrounding banks and trees muffle sound and there are no visible wires of any kind. But it is also the noise of the water that helps cover any other ambient noise. Nature can be noisy too, but it is generally less obtrusive (except when the peepers are mating in late spring).
A lot of my family like to have music playing all the time - at home, in the car, even exercising. But even though I cherish music, I'm often inclined to turn the radio off. It could be because I have music in my head so much of the time and don't like the collision of sound, or maybe I just hear it too actively and it's distracting. It could be that my brain doesn't multi-task well. Or maybe I just like the music of natural quiet.
No comments:
Post a Comment