The rhythmic two-tone notes of the passing train is replaced by the heavy trundling of the lorries along the Halifax Road, where I live in Todmorden. The cat, awakened by the inner rumblings of its stomach, I don’t doubt, slowly meanders across the room in search of someone to feed her.
And amidst this noise, the first day of the #Covid19 ‘lockdown’ in the UK, the wind blows. Evident from the slight chill – it is still March – as it passes by, but also as it invisibly, but audibly, flows by the branches of the trees. The cat nestles in the ajar doorway, looking smelling, listening.
What do we do as we pause?
There, in the background of this soundscape is the tweet of a bird: short, periodic, often masked by the sounds of life – although it is the sound of nature, created well before our industry. I see the top of the hills and wonder what sounds can be heard there, possibly not what I’m hearing isn’t carried there?
Where are you? What can you hear?
Can we listen, strive to listen to beyond what can be heard at first, listen to the silence beyond?
In the universe, there is no matter (that I’m aware of) at absolute zero temperature. The background radiation is approximately 3 Kelvin. When we look at the sky we see the visible colours but not the predominant background hue. I wonder if we could stop, pause and listen beyond what we usually hear – and hear the background silence?
Perhaps then we can find in that silence that opportunity to rediscover our humanity, and I believe, a world infused by God.
Over 50 years ago, Simon & Garfunkel sang about the Sound of Silence as well…
Serenity by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/…) Artist: http://audionautix.com/
Mind, The Wellbeing Journal – Creative Activities to Inspire, (London : Michael O’Mara, 2017) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wellbeing-Jo…