“Peaceful Woods” http://www.grandmothermusings.com
“If there were a little more silence, if we all kept quiet…maybe we could understand something.” Federico Fellini
Stop! Slow down. Take a breath. Listen. Do you ever just listen to the world around you? Surrounded by a myriad of sounds in daily life, how often do you have true silence?
Everything in our world seems to emit noise. The radio and the TV are obvious noisemakers; however, turning them off offers no relief. You must then contend with the white noise of refrigerators running, the air conditioner fan blowing, and the clock on the wall ticking. Life is so loud.
It would be interesting to go back in time to when there was no electricity, and experience the silence. A time when you could lie in your bed and hear nothing but your own breathing. There would be no cars on the roads to wake you with their loud music, no planes in your airspace, and no streetlights buzzing with the sounds of the night. It would be so peaceful.
The noiselessness, would allow you to think. Possibly, even feel like you could actually relax and not have to move to keep up with the taxing sounds. Maybe you would hear the wind blowing through the trees sounding like nature’s wind chime, or your alarm clock could be the birds chirping happily in the morning. Life could slow down.
Perhaps, as Federico Fellini quotes, “…we could understand something.” You would have time to pay attention to the words your children speak. You could attend to the lonely neighbor, or take notice of the sadness of a spouse. You would have the ability to remove the deafening world around you and truly understand the importance of what is being said. The seemingly small interruptions experienced today such as cell phones ringing and buzzing, rob you of the ability to truly stop and listen.
It may be wise to take some time to turn off all those attention-grabbing devices that clog up your hearing, and really listen to what is going on around you. You may be surprised at what you learn and understand in the name of silence.
Inspired by Bringing Europe Home’s challenge Quotes from the Masters: Fellini
Copyright © Jamie Nowinski and Grandmother Wisdom/ Grandmother Musings 2012-2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jamie Nowinski – Grandmother Wisdom/Grandmother Musings with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Grandmother Musings 
Every so often silence is needed, as we need food, water and air. Love Fellini’s work.
Thank you, Valentina. Silence can be truly up-lifting. 😉
It’s so true that the noises and devices are blocking us from listening, thinking and understanding. Thank you for the great post!
Thank you, Amy for the comments. 🙂
This is a beautiful post, Jamie! It’s amazing what we hear when we turn off all of the noisy distractions and stop to listen.
Thank you for joining in the challenge!
Thanks Robin. The Quotes from the Masters are very insipiring. I look forward to the next Master. Enjoy the day! 🙂
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I often think that about all the noise in our lives today…I guess we don’t want to turn the clock back but somehow we need to find more of the quiet times and places…Diane
You are right. I don’t want to give up my gadgets and air conditioning, ever! But, once in a while it is nice to turn off the noise. 🙂