Wednesday, January 03, 2007

When was the last time you heard the sound of birds chirping, the rush of the wind, or the sound of a creaking door in your house? We live in a society that generally no longer pays homage to Saturn the patron god of silence. Silence is rare in the modern world and it is generally not something we consider a gift but rather, more often than not, we feel threatened by the sound of silence. Why is that? Do we fear what we may hear from the deep reaches of our soul/intuition if we took the time to listen to the still quiet voice that seeks so desparately to be heard from time to time?....Don't get me wrong, I love noise as much as the next person. I love the sound of a loud concert, the roar of a crowd during a sporting event, and the scream of a fanatic fan when his or her football team scores a touchdown...but...I also can't help wondering and pondering to myself if we don't lose something critically valuable to the human experience by filling our lives with constant noise. I have become increasingly aware of the potential value of silence over the past few days because for the first time, since I don't know when, my house is not filled with the constant noise of television or the sound of people. At first it felt kind of weird and out of place but I feel like I am now adjusting and seeing for the first time the potential value in living with a daily dose of silence. Silence is not easy to obtain in the modern world for a variety of different reasons. Most people live in family arrangments with others while we are all subjected to the daily sounds of cars, planes, lawnmowers, television, radio, and the general hustle and bustle of daily life. But,I think it would benefit us all if from time to time, as our situation allows it, we find ways to pay homage to Saturn by turning off the T.V., and finding some place to just sit and listen to what our inner soul/spirit wants to say to us because I suspect our inner soul has some words of encouragement, healing, and other gifts to share with those who are willing to take the time to listen....

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I must admit... I really enjoy my iPod, iTunes collection and music in general! I have it on quite a bit of the time. But I think you are wise to encourage some intentional time of turning off the electronics and just listening to the world, as it is...

Anonymous said...

Bill, I remember heaing Karen Armstrong speak and she talked about the value of silence in her ife - the ability to go deeply into silence where her mind would become alert and her ideas would come forth formed and easier to see and hear. She said sometimes when she is working on a book, by herself, in her apartment (home) she can go weeks without noises and it becomes almost a monastery-like atmosphere of spiritual peace or transcendence.

Crazy! I can't imagine weeks of silence, let alone three straight hours! :) I do, however, appreciate quiet and silence more than I ever did when younger. If there is a day when everyone is gone and I'm alone at home, I literally leave every noise maker off and walk around relishing the quiet.

So in that way, I admire your current situation. :)

Julie

Bilbo said...

Hi Dave,

I hope my comments didn't deter your listening habits in any way. It was not my intention...but...I do think it is difficult to hear the needs and desires of our inner self when we are constantly on the go and subjected to noise "all" the time. Just my take on things...

Bilbo said...

Hi Julie,

Some of my most inspiring and imaginative thoughts occur when I go out into nature where it is quiet. Some things just require silence...and...while I now have an abundance of quiet where I live I can always turn on music which is something I have been doing alot of lately.