Ah, Silence

My Newest Insight

I’m constantly surrounded by sound. Some is pleasant, such as music. Some is annoying, such as noise.

Because I have my original builder-grade windows, I’m often treated to the sound of late -night street racing. However, some sound is entertaining, like Netflix or Comedy Central, but some is downright frightening…like watching the news.

My point is… sound, regardless of its origin, permeates my world 24-7. So much so, that I take it for granted. I don’t even notice it. It’s just there.

The first thing I do in the morning is turn on the TV. After all, I have to hear the bad news. I have to be prepared for ultimate disaster and possible annihilation…don’t I?

At night I go to sleep to the sound of my cat crying at my bedroom door. His goal is to sleep with me, whereas my goal is to sleep, period. I’m a light sleeper, and the slightest noise will awaken me. Not to mention cats have claws, and I have thin skin…as I see it, a recipe for sleep deprivation.

On the other hand, I try to be considerate to my felines. This morning I left the TV on for my cat when I went for my walk. As kind -hearted as that may seem, I seriously doubt he was interested in “Face The Nation”. But sound, I reasoned, was like company. Doesn’t everyone like company?

My Definition of Peace

I had my lightbulb moment later in the day as I washed the dishes. Everything else in the house was turned off, without any sound but the running water. This felt like heaven! This must be what people mean when they talk about peace. 

I’ve always known this. As a cafeteria monitor for a room full of elementary school students, the noise, at times, seemed over 80 decibels. I tried to compensate by looking  at them and imagining I couldn’t hear them. They were behaving, I noticed, simply eating and talking. But when the noise became too overwhelming, I put them on silent lunch for ten minutes. If this sounds too Machiavellian, I knew there were probably students who cherished the silence as much as I.

Bottom line, I want to create more time for silence. I invite you to listen to “The Sounds of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel. They were brilliant.

At their tender ages, they “got it”. 

Finally, now, I too, “get it”. 

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