Terminalcoffee discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Feeling Nostalgic? The archives
>
Sound and silence...
date
newest »
newest »
After reading your questions, I realized that I never ever have silence around me. When I drive I have the radio on, when I work or read I have music on, and even when I sleep I have an air purifier that whirls quietly in the back ground. Huh. Now I kinda feel weird, I think I am going to try to take a long, solo, quiet walk this weekend and see how this silence thing works out...
I find it harder to find silence in the winter, because I am usually indoors, and there is usually people there with me, but going outside to shovel the driveway at 10 at night is like pure heaven, there is no one else outside, and everything is quiet, and I can stop shoveling and listen whenever I want. Saturday mornings are always good too, as my kids are old enough that all their sporting events are in the afternoon, so no one except me gets up early, and I usually have the house to myself for two hours before the next person emerges. It gives me time to read, plan (always thinking of ways to improve something) and when it is nicer outside to listen to the birds. Not that listening to the birds is quiet, it just isn't man made noise. Also I go stream fishing in the summer, and am able to just sit on the bank when I want and listen to the stream.
I can't hear you. I have my ipod going constantly.
OH!!! I love a good bit of silence. The immediate effect can be unnerving. After a while, it's relaxing to be in tune with and aware of the world around you - it can be isolating and comforting at the same time. It's a real treat. I turned everything off yesterday while I was cooking. At the risk of sounding strange, I love the sounds of kitchen tools and accessories being put to use - a chopping board, a knife cutting through fresh herbs, a spoon scraping out a bowl, the ting of everything being dropped into the warmed wok...
Silence is good but there are times I need the sound of something. Most of the time while reading I want silence. If the TV is on or music playing I can get distracted and find it hard to get back into the book.
The best silence I have ever found is at 10,000 feet by the Cedar Breaks National Monument in Utah. When there aren't any other tourists around gabbing, the silence is almost complete, except for the occasional cry of a bird here and there or the wind rustling through the trees.It's very comforting for me. I crave it sometimes.
If you can hear, it's never really silent. There are just sounds you never pay attention to or appreciate.
I don't listen to music or turn the TV on at home when I'm alone. Haven't for years. I guess just about 13 years now. When The Kid was born. heh
I value silence and appreciate it when I find it, I like to read, think, write in silence. And solitude. Sometimes I like the bustle of cafe to write in, as long as no one is talking to me. I like to be alone and to be quiet.
I think silence is a need to be met, like sleeping and eating and breathing. What I haven't been able to find is inner silence. That monkey mind of mine is chattering almost non stop. I'm trying to learn about inner silence.
Cyril wrote: "If you can hear, it's never really silent. There are just sounds you never pay attention to or appreciate."That is absolutely true. I was hiking up in Mammoth a few years ago and ended up pretty far behind my family on the trail. It was very isolated and there were no sounds of civilization around. However, it was really noisy. There was the river, the birds, and the sound of the wind through an aspen grove.
The only time I ever encountered true silence was in one of those New Age isolation tanks back in the early Eighties. I nearly lost my mind during the time I was in there. The lose of sensory input really caused a panicky feeling.
Wow, I'd love to hear more about that experience. It sounds terrifying and enticing all at the same time. I've always wanted to do that, but I would probably say no if I did get the opportunity.
Mod
Now, I guess out of habit, I still spend my time at home alone listening to my breath, the wind outside, and the periodic ticking of the clock.
Sweeter, on the other hand, loves music. Music all the time. He has an enormous collection of LPs and CDs, not to mention all the MP3s. So when he's home we're usually listening to music. This is one of those things I'm learning about being married.
Yeah, I think I would have a hard time co-existing with another person because of tv. I can't stand the sound of a tv playing. I have joint custody of my daughter, which is different, because I can tell her to turn it off or use headphones, but you can't really do that with another adult. That's why we don't have a tv, but we do have a dvd player, which makes the same sound as a tv. I hate that sound!!!
My ex-husband had pretty bad hearing loss, and he would just have to use the headphones with the TV and online b/c otherwise he'd have to have it up so loud it would just make me insane.
Leslie, I can't stand the sound of the TV either, but if my husband isn't working, he's watching. Or my kid is playing x-box. I HATE THAT! Now you see why I have nothing on when I'm alone in the house. I also go to bed very late so I can get that silence.When the family is home, I lie on the couch with ear plugs, reading my book while they do their thing. GAHHHHH!
It was always on when I was growing up--pretty much always. Then I lived 15 years without one when I got It's good you guys co-exist. I make my daughter use headphones when she watches a dvd--I just don't want to hear it. I wish I was better at tuning things out, but I'm not, I'm awful at it. Oh well. Right now it's night and it's quiet and I'm loving it!
Mod
If there's some horrible noise bothering me, I'll try to drown it out with either a fan, or my white noise machine.
Mod
You must love that food show "Everyday Food." They seem to have placed microphones right at cutting board level because every noise like this is magnified, in my opinion, to the point of ridiculousness. I actually can't watch the show for that reason.
If I notice that my day has been full of loud music or the t.v. has been on more than usual, I will unplug for a little while and let my surroundings chill out somewhat. I call this "breathing" time.Although, I do like opening the window and allowing the very light sound of the wind chime outside to trickle in. The noise is so faint that it doesn't deter from the objective of gaining a moment of peace.
i can't sleep anywhere that's too silent. when i still lived with my parents, on their farm, i was used to relatively silent nights, no cars, no ambulances, nothing. now that i'm used to living in a city i find i can't fall back asleep when i'm at my parents' house, it's too quiet.
I like silence. I do spend a lot of time with the music off.
the word silence always makes me think of these RATM lyricsSilence
Something about silence makes me sick
'Cause silence can be violent
Sorta like a slit wrist
Lobstergirl wrote: "Heidi wrote: "At the risk of sounding strange, I love the sounds of kitchen tools and accessories being put to use - a chopping board, a knife cutting through fresh herbs, a spoon scraping out a bo...":) I might be a fan of the show if I watched tv.
I love the sound of snow falling, and of hummingbirds wings.
The cicada and tree frog trills are pretty loud lately. I can dig it, though - their sounds are still relaxing.
I couldn't fall asleep last night because one little bug was off beat from the rest of the orchestra. Everybody else was humming and he was clicking.
Mod
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Question...where do you find silence? When do you want silence? What do you get out of silence? Is silence becoming rare in this world?