There are few things I find more soothing than sitting someplace where the only thing I hear is the breeze, or the sound of raindrops, or one of my cats purring.
It's surprisingly different to find true silence, in today's world. We live in a small town, over an hour from the nearest metropolitan area. I can usually find a semblance of silence on one of our local beaches. And even then, it's only because I walk several miles down a beach that has no land access... so very few people bother to go there. But I can find silence, looking out across the water, across the straits towards the islands, with Canada in the distance. Sure, ships pass by, but they are so far out in the ship channel that I am barely aware of them.
When I was a kid, being "home alone" was actually one of my favorite things. Because the house would be quiet... and I could lie on the floor and listen to the sound of... almost nothing. We lived far enough down a quiet neighborhood street-- and at the end of a cul-de-sac-- so there was almost no sound of passing cars.
Somehow, I felt comforted by being alone with little more than my breathing. Silence afforded me a sense of... privacy. A sense that the world was-- at least for the moment-- not going to come and "make demands" of me.
Even when I was a teenager, I was never "one of those" who would use my parents not being home as an excuse to blast the stereo. In fact, I can say that I never went through a "blast the stereo phase," in my life. Not saying that's a "good" or "bad" thing... just that it's my thing.
Talk Back! What's YOUR relationship with silence? Do you love silence, or does complete stillness make you antsy?
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