Quietude

by Richard Reeve on April 18, 2009

in AziMuth

One of the greatest gifts living in this rural location is quietude.  It’s the gift I needed to learn to appreciate, one that can easily be left on the shelf.

We crowed out the silence with all types of fillers, the radio in the car, the tv, the i pod.  Anything to create a bubble of white noise that can keep us from the subtle and at time strange music that is the world of quietude.

The gurgling brook speaks the voice of silence, as does the crow now flying over the hill.  And the distant notes of a child’s recorder, somewhat mournful and slightly flat, summoning imaginary friends out of the shadows.

The sound scape ties us aurally to the environment differently than our sight.  I wonder, is it silence or reality itself that we are trying to keep at a distance with all our white noise?

There’s a great little book by the philosopher Max Picard on the subject:  The World of Silence.

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  • A juxtaposition of TV and silence, or at least the absence of mechanical noises: Sidney Poitier, interviewed by Oprah, described growing up on an island with no electricity; where the sounds were the lapping of waves, the bird calls, people's voices, the wind in the leaves, the rain on roofs. I tried for some time to imagine such a childhood...
  • That's a fascinating example. To it I'd like to add the experience of poet David Walcott growing up on St. Lucia, hearing the lines of Shakespeare read from out of the cradle...
  • Who was in the cradle reading?

    Sorry! Couldn't help myself.
  • That's a great insight Mary. It a difficult perspective to arrive at for many, knowing that what goes swirling through one's head is not completely under one's control, and to accept the otherness of the Self. .
  • You cut right to the chase in that assessment Mary. I can't say I disagree. I recall the most interesting view I had of this when introducing a group of urban middle-schoolers to hiking. I was amazed by how much weight they were each carrying to keep their noise going as we headed into the wilderness...After a few miles, the seriousness of the mistake started to dawn on them.
    The question that is interesting to me is how do we get caught up in this unawares. Even those of us committed to quietude can run an endless loop of chatter through our heads...
  • The 'endless loop of chatter' for me, I think, is some kind of fear that it will end. Isn't that strange? Afraid that some sudden emptiness will happen. Only recently have I relaxed, knowing the stream of thought is ever flowing.
  • I think you've identified one of the salient characteristics of civilization gone amuck. Millions (billions?) can't abide silence, avoid it like the plague. Strikes me as extremely neurotic. Obvious and ignorant avoidance of self knowledge.
  • I've always found white noise distressingly intrusive! Living in the country makes it easier to remove so that the ear can here the crow, the wind or the neighbours half a mile away.
    After living with my ex's need for constant music for 10 years, it took 3 years of 'silence' before I began to listen to music again for myself. Even so it's mostly on car rides.
    Music can't exist unless it rises out of and plays with silence in any case. (Not that there is anything at all silent about 'silence').
    Thanks for this post.
  • Hi Lindsay,
    Thanks for commenting...
    If we are using sounds as nothing but a smoke screen to reality then it begs the question, what are we afraid of?
  • Doug
    When I was in college in the mid 1960's, American Composer John Cage would sometimes visit our campus. He was friends with people in the music department. His visits always included a "concert" or "recital" of his work. I remember enjoying one such event in our college chapel. It certainly helped my awareness of what I actually listen to.

    During the obligatory question-and-answer period following the musical part of the event, one student colleague asked Mr. Cage what he thought of TV.

    John Cage answered, "I love TV!"
  • Hey Doug,
    What a great story about John Cage. Thanks for adding that into the mix.
  • Now that's a nice break. You've inspired me to turn off CNN.

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