Listen to the silence

On By Inese, visual artist, writer and life sciences bloggerIn green living, healthy habits, life, lifestyle, mental health, nature

Stop the noise

We are almost always surrounded by background noise. If it were only bird voices and wind in the trees, that would be still fine. However, more and more often I want to stop the noise of devices and TV and pollution of mind which leaves a permanent residue. I turn off the news and TV, and I don’t scroll that much through social media sites if at all. How social are they? I just looked at Facebook, it is like this: ads, ads, ads, a hundred times repeated quote, a nice picture, ads, ads, more ads. Quite frequently, it seems there’s noise everywhere and for no good reason. Thankfully, we can tun the sound off. We can leave all angry discussions alone and head out to the park, or garden, or simply get out and turn devices off, too. Which is what most people won’t do. There are always good reasons, business call or request, kids needing something, or friend wants to talk and so forth. However, we deserve a moment of silent relaxation, and not only in sleep.

Silence as a healing factor

Listening to silence should be big priority in our life which is attacked by numerous influences every single moment, every time we look at a screen. Many people admit they meditate. Nowadays, meditation is understood very broadly as simply devoting time for going deep inside oneself and removing noise of disturbing thoughts and our internal reactions to external events. Lots of people don’t even know how to meditate or do it in a way which is not the mainstream concept of this activity. I personally think we can only benefit from detaching ourselves for a moment from active external attacks and whatever way we do that. Therefore, being in a silent environment becomes a healing experience which allows recharging.

The silent environment

Take a breath of freshness

The one advantage of COVID pandemic is being able to listen to the silence. I sit outdoors or on my veranda late at night watching stars and sky. Eternity seems so close, and the universe is straight before my eyes. I take a breath of the sky, and stars sparkle in the huge dark dome of extended purple-blue infinity. It’s very easy to get lost in this silence and forget about all troubling matters. Not a sound. In the morning, nature sounds wake me: birds, wind or rain. For a moment, there was hardly any traffic, and I thought that was terrific. What a relief! Air is so clean, the sky so pure that one cannot help but assume: we do produce and manufacture too much, and many of them are useless things. This all deepens imbalance and causes disturbance of the natural equilibrium.

Uninterrupted break from noise

We need silence from time to time, complete silence which is not interrupted by shriek alarms, screams, rude language, car and heavy machinery noises and sounds of never-ending rush. Switching from loud environment to soft and mild sound environment makes one breathe much easier. Freeing the body from chains of all-surrounding noise gives the brain the much-needed break. Remember how walking in a park or forest put you in elevated mood? That refers to moments when the only sounds are nature-related. Just like our eyes require diversion from screens, our ears need the same. We should leave specific time for music and specific time for listening to podcasts and other audio material.

Dreamy infinity

Keeping sensory organs in balance

This life is loud already; we might say, much too loud. Living life in headphones contributes to anxiety, nervousness, insomnia and restlessness. If we use some sensory body parts too much and abuse them in a violent way, the balance is destroyed. No human is supposed to listen to something 24 hours a day, that’s why we need sleep. We need it in order to recharge and heal. During sleep, our immune system fortifies our defense mechanisms, the brain clears out pollution and resets its processing ability. Sleep is the time which we absolutely need, and, especially, because the sounds and visible disturbances are turned off.

Mental problems Internet can facilitate our exposure to foreign influences so much that people start suffering from chronic confusion, lack of focus, forgetfulness, anxiety, insomnia, chronic fatigue, fear, dreadful nightmares and misinterpretation of reality. The latter is especially dangerous because we lose touch with reality and blunder into misconceptions. Turning off sounds allows us to think, make conclusions and look into ourselves. Not everybody is the same, but when I have to do a complex work which requires strong focus and maximum concentration, I have silence or just the nature sounds from backyard around me.

Recharge in silence

Noise interference

Lots of people or big part of global population live high above the ground and are surrounded by never-ending noise. If it’s only a distant background noise, the interference won’t be too harsh, but for those who intentionally live in a loud environment or have no other choice for the lack of better living or work conditions, it has a big impact. Yet, we often don’t pay any attention to that and we should.

Life is loud

This life is loud, but we have tools to preserve ourselves. Mind pollution is one of the important aspects which requires solution. It might be something different for different people, but, like all types of pollution, mind pollution accumulates and becomes an issue. Turning off destructive noises is one of ways we help ourselves. In always present noise, we won’t be able to hear the things that matter. Whenever possible, we have to choose natural environment, and that includes the level of noise.

Thanks for reading, take care

23 thoughts on “Listen to the silence”

    1. I think so. I wrote this article more than a month ago, and it was triggered by some people in the neighborhood always having some loud outdoor parties, although, it was totally prohibited. I also noticed how lots of people always keep their headphones on.
      I believe that more than ever we need to detach from noises and other mind polluting things.
      Thanks Tiffany for taking your time and commenting!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      2. I use pictures a lot, especially on the art website. On this blog, I’m trying to match them with theme and subject.
        I usually check out other sites when I get a moment. With the sunny weather, I am going outdoors, and then I will paint also because of the excellent light. I prefer staying off computer and phone for the weekend whenever possible. In fact, I’m decreasing any online activity in spring and summer, just leaving some hour for advertising art classes and art.
        Have a good weekend!

        Liked by 2 people

  5. The photos are beautiful, Inese, and illustrate the message. Quietude is very healing. You are correct, there is too much noise in modern life, and regular disconnect from Internet, radio, TV, etc. is essential to wellbeing.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. I’ve noticed that I recently have looked at some social media sites, and it’s hard to grasp what I’m doing there. There’s nothing more to see, except ads, ads and more ads.
      While we are still not completely open in Ontario, there’s less traffic, especially less planes taking off, and the difference is very visible and discernible. The air quality is much better, although, I should complain because I’m not anywhere close busy city, the background noises are quite subtle, too.
      We have put comfort and convenience first, and there’s no surprise bad air, water and soil have caused diseases and disorders. if we add artificial and manipulated food, the picture is clear.
      You are probably ok on the farm, it must be some relief knowing that you can feel somewhat relaxed. The income is another story, but good farm survives everything.
      Thanks Lavinia for stopping by!

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

    1. Being in control is a big issue. I was thinking the other day that every platform, every operating system, every device push us. They want to make decisions for me.
      I simply believe that many people have forgotten the idea that silence is healing, more healing than listening to a podcast or music 24 hours a day. We just need to give our brain a break.
      Spring is starting, and I suppose you’re busy, too!
      Thanks very much for commenting and stopping by!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      2. We had a few very warm days, but it’s quite cold at the moment. I suppose it’s going to warm up next week. I haven’t started any planting yet because I don’t have suitable indoor space and there was no point yet outdoors. I don’t have seeds yet, too. Well, I have the seeds I collect from my own plants, but that doesn’t cover everything.
        Did you start plants already? You probably did.
        Have a nice day!

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Well, I didn’t get a chance yet to get any new seeds. I have some from last year, but not everything. They put us in a complete lockdown for one more month starting tomorrow midnight. It’s very cold outside anyway, maybe it will get warmer next week.
        We usually don’t do anything special. I intend to post about that, probably tomorrow or after tomorrow. It’s quiet, peaceful, no rush, it’s fine.
        have a happy Easter and good start of spring! Thanks for comment!

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