In 1964, Simon and Garfunkel released a song called "The Sounds of Silence." The first time I ever heard that song, I totally misunderstood its meaning, (thinking it was about drug abuse and suicide), but I found myself thinking about it the other day while I was out hiking and stopped to identify the sounds of a woodpecker on a nearby tree.
Garfunkel once summed up the song's meaning as "the inability of people to communicate with each other, not particularly internationally but especially emotionally, so what you see around you are people unable to love each other." It was written in the midst of protests over Vietnam and was about the oppression of people because they chose to remain silent instead of speaking up for rights, like so many people are doing in this day and age, as a result of social media.
It is while walking in the woods that I realized how many beautiful things there are to see: uprooted tree trunks; tiny sprouts of wintergreen; light green moss protected from the bright sun; and little holes in trees and along the forest floor that are hide outs for squirrels, chipmunks and snakes.
Once I stopped to listen to the woodpecker, I realized that the silence around me added a dimension that is hard to experience in our modern world. It was, somehow, an invisible frame that enhanced everything around me. Few people live this deep in a quiet, forest primeval. There are sounds rising and falling all around us almost constantly - traffic, airplanes, people, cowbells, motorcycles, sirens, horns, wind chimes, barking dogs, children shouting.
Silence is precious, yet we can still train ourselves to hear that silence in the midst of the noise and chaos around us. Some of the great thinkers of the world need peace to listen to new ideas and gain fresh inspiration. It is where I, as a writer, find ideas. Thoreau had Walden Pond, Hemingway had his beach side cabin in Key West, Robert Frost had his New England cottage. Thomas Edison sometimes fished without bait.
You do not have to slip into the woods or cover your ears to be still and listen. Not everyone can go off by themselves for a few minutes if they are in a busy office situation, crowded downtown street, or a theatrical performance. We can say, “Silence!” to the noisy thoughts surrounding us. We can find precious silence and peace of mind right in the middle of physical or mental commotion.
As you have probably noticed, it is a noisy world. All our technology helps ensure we are never sitting in silence. But experts advise that may not be the best thing for us. Silence and solitude have been shown to improve our physical and mental well being. And gaining the benefits of silence in our lives really is not that difficult.
Researchers found that even a quiet walk in a park can stimulate brain growth in the hippocampus, leading to better memory. They found that three walks per week of 40 minutes were enough to stimulate such growth.
Upon meeting a Zen master at a social event, a psychiatrist decided to ask him a question that had been on his mind for a long time.
“Exactly how do you help people?” - the man inquired.
“I get them where they cannot ask any more questions.” - the master replied.
Mental noise is hurting our minds - we are continually asking questions that create busyness, not knowledge. We are in ‘reacting mode,’ leaving no room for reflection. To regain perspective in life, you need to pause. Silence is fertile ground.
Silence is not just lack of noise. It is an empty space for your mind to recover clarity. And to protect it from mental noise.
Many people believe silence is isolation. However, it is busyness that detaches us from reality. You need to take distance and reflect. As Lao-Tzu said, “Just remain in the center, watching. And then forget that you are there.”
Silence is not about the absence of sound - it invites the presence of everything else. The great theologian and author G.K Chesterton once said, “I am not absentminded. It is the presence of mind that makes me unaware of everything else.”
Noise keeps us busy.
Our brain is continually exposed to internal and external stimuli. Silence feels impossible, like emptying our spirit.
We have turned noise into entertainment - it provides a temporary distraction so you cannot pay attention. Silence is an endangered species. Real quietness is being present. Silence is not an absence of sound, but an absence of noise. The Earth is a "solar powered jukebox". We take in the world through its ears. Noise is contaminating our minds.
We are surrounded by a wide variety of sounds and noises every day. However, one sound is rarely heard, although it is particularly beneficial: the sound of silence. Silence is also cultural. For instance, Japanese people highly value silence as an essential form of non-verbal communication - it conveys information, emotions and is a sign of respect and personal distance. In the Western world, silence is viewed as an omen of something wrong. When we ask for time alone, people automatically assume something is wrong, especially if we do not answer an email or a text message within 12 hours.
Rather than trying to define silence, think of it as an experience. Silence is the real sound of music. Empty spaces play a meaningful role in building the right atmosphere in architecture and space design. The white space is the most crucial element in visual design.
Silence enables something else to emerge. Perspective, reflection, distance, ideas, and solutions show up unexpectedly when you silence the mind. It is a whole ‘team’ that comes to help you. Quiet is a think tank of the soul. We take the world through its ears.
The same happens with music. Without silence, the various notes would all feel the same. Utilizing silence for very brief - less than a few beats - or for longer periods, creates a different impact on the listener.
"Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts," wrote Henry David Thoreau, as he recorded natural sounds with what he had available in his age: a pen. He sought the soundscapes that emerge when human noise disappears - something much easier in his day than it is now. He described the music of owls, birds, insects, the pond, the rolling hills of Massachusetts and the rustle of grass and trees.
When meaningful communication fails, the only sound is silence. The natural world has a story to tell us, if we only take the time to truly listen.
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