True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment. ~William Penn
Do you think silence is harder to find in our current day with so many electronic devices and all the busy things we do? And what really constitutes true silence? Is it even possible to find that except in a soundproof booth or perhaps alone in a cave? And even if we were in that cave, water might be dripping or a bat might move its wings or…
Right now I’m home by myself, but I hear the hum of the refrigerator. Frankie is whining at the door. And now that I’ve let him and Marley in, I’ll be hearing them panting or Marley snoring. If I step outside, I will hear the wind ruffling the poplar tree leaves. I’ll hear the whirr of the hummingbirds’ wings as they chase each other away from the feeders. Birds will be singing. Bugs will be chirping. The frogs down at the pond will be croaking. The butterflies will be very near to silent as they flutter around my butterfly bush.
But perhaps this next quote says it nicely about all those nature noises.
The world’s continual breathing is what we hear and call silence. ~Clarice Lispector
The world around us does breathe. Those natural sounds can be restful. At least they are to me. I’ve heard those not used to the chirr of the jar flies, crickets and katydids think they are very noisy. But those are noises I barely hear unless I consciously stop to listen.
Stopping to listen is a good way to embrace silence. Perhaps the world around you won’t be still with no noise. Electonic devices will beep. Keyboard keys will click when pushed to type these words. A clock will tick off the seconds. Traffic will rumble along on the interstate a mile or so. Manmade sounds are hard to completely escape. But perhaps we can find times to step out into the night when the winds are still and most of the birds are asleep to look up at the stars on a clear night. Do you think we can hear them glitter?
Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom. ~Francis Bacon
I hope we can all find a few moments of silence to enjoy as we put aside the busyness of our lives and dwell on the blessings of life and listen to the world breathe around us.
My soul, wait silently for God along, for my espectation is from Him. …Psalm 62:5 (NKJ)
What are you hearing right now? Are they happy sounds?
Comments 18
I’m used to the sound of silence, and I like it…. Right now, I hear ticking of the clock, and the fridge motor buzzing too. The rain stopped about 15 minutes ago, or so. The nice silence that comes after the rain. We’re empty nesters, silence is common in this house.
Author
The silence is good, Jolynn. I’ve been an empty nester for many years. But it’s also fun to remember the sounds of raising a family during those earlier years too. I just took my dogs outside. Sometimes they have to be encouraged to go out into the yard. The bugs were doing a great job of filling the night with their noises. Both dogs must have liked it because they turned their back on me and found a spot to settle down in the grass. It was a good summer night sound.
The sound of
The sound of silence is wonderful to me. My sister is deaf and I often wonder what her thoughts on silence are. She was 20 years old and deaf when i was born so we aren’t close since she married and moved to another city when I was an infant.
Author
I’ve sometimes wondered about that too, Elaine. Of course, you have more reason to wonder with your sister being deaf. But do they hear their voices in their thoughts the way I do? It’s probably something I could never understand just as a deaf person might not be able to understand what hearing is like.
I hear my fan running beside me, even with the air conditioning running, it don’t reach this room too good. I hear the little plastic figures clicking away that move back and forth when the sun hits them. They are for Christmas, but for some reason I just leave them in the window all the time. I hear a bird chirp outside now and then, and I hear the keys on the keyboard click as I type this. I know there would be other things I would hear, but the fan downs them out. I like things to be quiet most of the time. I don’t like listening to the constant talk or music on the TV, so I very seldom watch it.
Author
I’m not one of those people that like the tv or radio on all the time for the noise. I like the quiet like you, Connie. A fan can make that white noise to rest your ears from the other noises you might just as soon not hear. But I do like hearing the birds. But now that we have airconditioning and keep our windows closed, I don’t hear the outside noises the way I used to when all the windows were up to cool out the house. So I like to go outside and listen sometimes.
Sitting in a Dr.waiting room—AC whirring, a sneeze, quiet chatter from Dr. area. Not much of anything else.
Author
It’s interesting the different sounds we can hear according to where we are, Karen. Hope you weren’t the one sneezing and that all is well.
The hum of the ceiling fan, my dog breathing beside me, the refrigerator running. As I looked at the beautiful picture of the butterflies a thought came to my mind from “These Healing Hills” and realized everything does have a rhythm if you take time to listen, to feel, to watch…just as those beautiful butterflies (my favorite thing) flitting, floating around.
Thank you Ann for your wonderful books. I have read several over the last two months and have enjoyed each and every one!
Author
I hadn’t thought about Granny Em telling Francine about the rhythm of nature, Pamela. I should have found a way to include that in my post. Thank you for doing that for me with your comment. There is a rhythm to the world around us and it’s good to sometimes tune into that rhythm. My dog, Marley, is breathing on his bed behind me.
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed some of my stories this summer. I appreciate you letting me know that. Thank you.
Silence is golden and ever so rare for sure. Last night we walked the Karst Trail at Broad Run for the first time, and as we weaved our way deeper into the woods, it all of the sudden hit me how quiet it was! The ringing in my ears was more noticeable because there was very little if any, background noise for some minutes until the sound and sight of a deer loping off brought me out of my reverie.
Author
That sounds lovely, Amy. There is a special silence in among the trees. You can suddenly become very atuned to the noises of the woods.
Right now I do not hear anything beyond the tapping of my fingers on the keyboard. I live alone and do not often have the TV on. There is usually street noise, someone in the neighborhood likes to rev their engine as they pass by. I shake my fist!!! LOL!! At night you can hear the whine of the mosquito control truck. I go to sleep listening to a book, it quiets my mind. Years ago my son worked overnight in a convenience store and used to bring home the day old donuts. We would scatter them for the birds in the morning, which delighted the birds! They would “talk” happily while pecking at the donuts. A lovely sound! One day a turtle came along and ate the chocolate filling out of a donut, and then proceeded to go on it’s way munching grass. A squirrel came along and grabbed the rest of the donut!!
Author
Loved reading about your good sounds, Marjorie, especially about the donuts and the animals. I’m like you. I don’t turn the television on if I’m here alone, but my husband enjoys watching television for most of the day. When I’m in my office working, it’s a muted sound that doesn’t interfere with my thinking. Right now Marley is doing a lot of panting behind me. He may need to visit the outdoors. 🙂
Our power went out for 24 hours after a bad storm and the silence was beautiful! No hum of any refrigerator, no television, just blessed silence. I could feel the difference- I felt less stressed.
Author
There are blessings in every situation, Cheryl. I’ve enjoyed that sound of silence when we have a big snow in the winter and the traffic is slowed or stopped over on the highway not far from my house. A little quiet time is a good de-stresser.
I’m hearing a lot of rain!!
Author
If you need the rain, that can be a beautiful sound, Shirley. Perhaps not so beautiful if you are in a flood.