Reading this made me so concerned for my colleague (slow down!!!). A thought that occurs to me while I watch my baby take her morning nap in total silence - my mom thinks I'm spoiling her by not intentionally creating a noisier environment to which she must adapt, to build noise resilience for the future. (I have seven siblings, feels relevant.)
Thank you for this reflection! I think there’s value in distinguishing between “noise” vs “sound” and “silence” vs “stillness.” I haven’t seen the film you’ve mentioned, but I’m not convinced absolute silence is the goal or even a good. I think there is value to sound: the coo of your baby and the life of your daughter and the revelry of your neighbor; the sound of calm waves after a command of “Peace” and wind rustling leaves; the consecration and The Word, uttered over the Earth, and Incarnate, crying out on the Cross. But when there is noise, things can go awry. In general, noise seems most associated with a lack of stillness: rushing through the day, frenetic inputs beyond prudent limits, overextending awareness instead of concentrating it into a meditative point; the fearful disciples on the tossing waves. I think in stillness, true silence can be given as a grace. I’m thinking about how when I am looking with love at my spouse, who looks at me with love, I couldn’t tell you sounds outside of my beating heart and his gentle voice. Everywhere outside his gaze is silent because my perception of it is taken away.
I live in a small town in North Dakota. We still have quiet. Yes, I can hear the sound of the truck wheels on the highway as they carry sugar beets and so on. But it's generally quiet here, and I can see the Andromeda galaxy with the unaided eye. This was a good place for our children to grow up.
Reading this made me so concerned for my colleague (slow down!!!). A thought that occurs to me while I watch my baby take her morning nap in total silence - my mom thinks I'm spoiling her by not intentionally creating a noisier environment to which she must adapt, to build noise resilience for the future. (I have seven siblings, feels relevant.)
Thank you for this reflection! I think there’s value in distinguishing between “noise” vs “sound” and “silence” vs “stillness.” I haven’t seen the film you’ve mentioned, but I’m not convinced absolute silence is the goal or even a good. I think there is value to sound: the coo of your baby and the life of your daughter and the revelry of your neighbor; the sound of calm waves after a command of “Peace” and wind rustling leaves; the consecration and The Word, uttered over the Earth, and Incarnate, crying out on the Cross. But when there is noise, things can go awry. In general, noise seems most associated with a lack of stillness: rushing through the day, frenetic inputs beyond prudent limits, overextending awareness instead of concentrating it into a meditative point; the fearful disciples on the tossing waves. I think in stillness, true silence can be given as a grace. I’m thinking about how when I am looking with love at my spouse, who looks at me with love, I couldn’t tell you sounds outside of my beating heart and his gentle voice. Everywhere outside his gaze is silent because my perception of it is taken away.
I live in a small town in North Dakota. We still have quiet. Yes, I can hear the sound of the truck wheels on the highway as they carry sugar beets and so on. But it's generally quiet here, and I can see the Andromeda galaxy with the unaided eye. This was a good place for our children to grow up.
https://substack.com/@graywyvern/p-191189106