Listening to Silence

Listening to the sound of silence

 

Silence is something I appreciate. Though if you have ever been with me you are probably scratching your head thinking to yourself, "Huh? That girl likes to talk, non stop, a chatter box. When has she ever been silent?" 

In my defense I am ying and yang when it comes to this subject.

 

Listening to the heart

 

 

Talkative yes, silent when alone. I can spend hours, and need to spend hours, in silence.

I suppose that is why I like to work alone. 

 

City sounds, paris

 

When we were renovating the apartment in Paris I quickly recalled how loud a city can be. Sure we were tearing down walls, drilling holes, hammering… but there was also the ever present sounds of the city. At the end of the day I longed to open the window and listen to the soft stir of calmness.

Living in the country, or I should say a small town like I do, silence is part of the attraction.

The hidden choir of sounds circling about around home are: Children playing at recess from the school, the clicking sound when I tap the computer keys, the church bells, the mistral (wind), the hum of the light bulb, the cat climbing into our courtyard, the splash of the fish tail, Yann running up and down the stairs from one floor to the next, my heart beat…

 

Tabernacle song

There are layers of sounds amongst us…

The external sounds around and about that can be familiar enough that they cease to exist.

The internal sounds within us, our thoughts, the levels of consciousness that speak within us from sunrise to sunset, some can silent their internal voices, most cannot.

Others find silence ackward, and listen to white noise as a mantra.

What are the sounds from your inner tabernacle?

 

Song of silence

Listening as an artform.

Taking time to listen beyond the words, beyond the why, when, what, when, how…

Letting silence speak in song.

At any given moment to take time to hear five different sounds that surround you, that are speaking within you, that are trying to lead you…

Today listening to my breathing, trusting its message.

 

 



Comments

36 responses to “Listening to Silence”

  1. I too am a chatterbox love talking with family friends and strangers even my animals-but silence is something I seek many times throughout the day-it is a necessity for me-like air-I bask in the sounds of silence everything becomes more acute -this is a very thought provoking post-

  2. I love this post. I too grew up in the country. I think it is the most spiritual place to live, but I live in the city now. In the country, I can feel God’s presence in the wind, the song of a bird, the rustle of the grass. It seems easier to slow down and notice these things in the country. Thank you for this beautiful post, dear Corey.

  3. I adore this post too ~ and the humanness of each of us having that chatter ~ again the circle of oneness ~ though I prefer having others around, I do not ~ yet I do appreciate calm and I too have that yin yang within ~ beautiful photography ~ XO

  4. I live in the city, so I hear sounds about me of planes and trains. In my home I mostly live in silence. I am not a talker, but can tell you this in writing. In school and in groups I have always been overlooked because I listen and am slow to speak. People don’t think I have things to say, but sometimes my heart bursts with the need to speak. I am thankful for the computer because I am not interrupted and spoken over. If those around me so desire to hear me it is most often online. I have been thinking on this just today, so it is amazing that you mention it.

  5. When I was a child and we’d go up to my maternal grandparents’ subsistence farm in the redwood wilderness, the first night it would always be so silent that we couldn’t sleep, because we were so accustomed to the routine sounds of the city (yes, I know, cue the KSFO radio jingle of that title!).
    I like to work either in silence, or with jazz or classical music playing in the background. Our house is set so far back from the road that we don’t hear much noise, which is pleasant. Just the very occasional siren of a police car or firetruck, although they’re usually just passing through so abate quickly…

  6. I DO recall the eerie silence on 9/11/2001 starting in early afternoon after all airplanes had been grounded, and apparently most people had gotten to their homes and were staying put in order to watch TV. About the only thing we could hear was birds twittering (back when that word meant something different from what it does nowadays — LOL!).

  7. There is a beauty to both the quiet of the country and the buzz of the city.
    The sounds of my “inner tabernacle” are easy. I have them recorded on my phone: a video of waves crashing at my favorite spot on the beach, a close-up video of my cat purring while being brushed, a slice of an outdoor classical concert at Hollywood Bowl. Watching any of these is calming no matter where I am.

  8. I like this. Very thoughtful.

  9. I listen to my inner voice, amidst the hum of my computer transformer, chimes of the chateau bell, birds chirping, and the lovely accent of my French husband’s voice.

  10. I miss being at our beach place with the wooshing of the waves and the cling clang sound of the masts on sail boats on shore. In Paris I can hear the metro and RER trains deep underground and the pitter patter of the little feet of a toddler in the apartment up above us, the wailing of a baby and the parents clomping in the hall. Sometimes I hear someone else’s TV or French conversation or someone going down the stairs. Luckily, I can’t hear traffic as we are set back in a courtyard. And then there are the loud parties going on in the summer in an apartment sharing the courtyard by our bedroom when we have the windows open. I like silence and I’m one of those that likes to be alone and be silent.

  11. The stream, birdsong, ciccadas in the summer, the wind at my door…

  12. I love the silence when I take our dog Lucy for a walk in the morning. Lyn

  13. I remember being acutely aware of sounds at my grandparents farm, country life…(low chuckling chirps from the chickens, distant train whistles, wind in the trees, cows and animals sounds…so different than where I grew up in the City suburbs of Baton Rouge, La….I remember my mom knowing that something was unusual by listening to different sounds at Exon refinery plant, which could be heard in the distance, she would await my dads return and ask him about what went on at work. He was amused by her accuracy in knowing something was “not the usual”… even by the smell of the air, which no one else seemed to ever notice. I enjoy living on the outskirts of city life today! But as far as treasure hunting, you can find them anywhere!

  14. I used to love the ‘sound of silence’. Then in the last 2 months my husband suddenly and mysteriously lost almost all his hearing and developed tinnitus. Familiar noises and voices are now unrecognisable to him and we are struggling to communicate.
    This has been the most difficult experience I have known, and we can’t even talk to each other about it.
    My heart breaks every day as our world becomes more and more silent. I love him so much.

  15. Silence is like oxygen to me. I drive back and forth to work in silence. Although I live in a small city, we have surrounded our property with trees and hung bird houses all around so that in the mornings I can sit in the yard and listen to the birds while I have my coffee.

  16. Karen,
    I am so touched by your comment. Please know I will keep you in my thoughts as you and your husband struggle with this new way of being.

  17. Patti Lloyd

    I share your experience, Marilyn. Communication is hard for us who speak eloquently through our fingers, but have more difficulty through speech.

  18. Ed in Willows

    I just got back from a weekend in Ft. Bragg. We spent several hours in the giant Redwoods. Walking through the ferns, clover and moss covered logs strolling back into the trees away from the hyway. The silence was deafening. The lack of sound was so noticeable. I noticed that my ears were ringing, probably from living around constant noise most of the time. I could start to hear insects flying by and an occasional bird. The ground is soft and moist so walking doesn’t even make a sound.

  19. Patti Lloyd

    I have heard that in India there is such a constant din of people and life that there is never silence. Learning to meditate must be the only salvation. How sad not to know the sound of a bird in the morning.

  20. Debbie Z.

    What a beautiful post. I printed it out to read from time to time because it reminded me of how much I need silence- to renew strength and inner calm. Music speaks to me and so I listen to it a lot but sometimes I will turn it off in the car and just drive in the quiet. I always notice the sound of birds singing but there was one time in particular. I was dealing with breast cancer and I sat on our deck on the morning sunlight. The sound of the birds was just like a beautiful symphony I can’t even describe. I believe it was a gift from God because I needed encouragement right then.

  21. I don’t admit this too often (especially around family), but in addition to silence, I also like stretches of being alone; probably because it helps me to focus when there is nothing going on around me.

  22. hmmm silence is golden + god given. How beautiful is silence when i hear the my breathing + birds + animals. beautiful post. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

  23. I miss the sound of silence..I live in busy city and it is annoying to constantly hear sirens, traffic (it never stops) and the awful & loud crime shows dh watches. I didn’t grow up in a city and so I appreciate the sounds of birds, the wind in the trees and nothing. Having said that ‘tho I have to sleep with white noise (a fan)to drown out outside noises and the unfortunate buzzing in my ears that developed out of nowhere a few years ago. I also tend to chatter but I also love to be alone and let my thoughts/inner voice ramble while I create.

  24. Oh Karen.
    I am so sorry for you and your husband. I trust that the love that is between you will lead the way. xxx Corey

  25. Hello Debbie
    Thinking of you and hoping renewed health and peace. I love when life unexpectedly gives us a gift, when the ordinary becomes the extraordinary.
    xx Corey

  26. Lucky!!
    I love when silence is deafening!
    And walking on soft ground, I could feel it as you wrote it!

  27. Thank you Patti!

  28. Corey, beautiful!Thank you!
    The birds early in the morning…the foot steps on the sidewalk,children laughing in the afternoon,the noise of setting/preparing lunch on weekends….Life is good!:)

  29. Oh, Robin. Thank you so much for your kind words & thoughts. You have made me feel a little less alone. Blessings.
    Karen C

  30. Thank you Corey. You have just made me realize that you and I have a ‘silent friendship’ that I also value.

  31. Eileen, I feel exactly the same! 😉

  32. It took me a long time to be able to appreciate blue skies and silence again, after the 9/11. I lived in DC then and I remember clearly when I opened the refrigerator at 11 AM, and noticed the sucking sound the door made. i looked out the window and heard nothing and thought how strange that our lives would end in such a way. On the most beautiful day imaginable.

  33. Dear Karen C,
    I hope doctors can find a way to help your husband and for both of you to maybe communicate in different ways.
    My heartfelt wishes and thoughts,
    M.

  34. M, your words are kind and well meaning. Thank you. Unfortunately it is irreversible, but I am hoping it will be manageable. I have sought the advice of a deafness group who maybe able to offer us support and wisdom.
    At our lowest times God seems to have surrounded us with strong supportive people. We still have a lot to be thankful for.
    Karen C

  35. Ed in Willows

    I even thought about you as we drove through Westport 🙂

  36. Silence. The quiet contentment of an inner comfort of being.

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