The
Sound Train
“Wind
in the trees, thunder, flowing water, falling leaves, rain, animal voices,
birdsong—we live amid a teeming polyphony of natural sounds. Add to these the sounds
of human activity, from soft footsteps to pneumatic drills, from muted conversation
to pounding trains, from jetting fountains to jet planes…Our world is permeated
with sounds, some calming the heart and mind, some keeping us frenetic and on
edge.”
Thomas
Moore (The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life, p.103; Harper Collins, 1996)
Just
down the hill from my house the city is putting in new water drainage pipes. For
several weeks, the sound of metal against metal, jackhammers breaking up
asphalt, scraping bulldozer pans, and screeching gears and brakes as people try to maneuver around the mess and the mass of metal has permeated my neighborhood.
And always, the beep-beep-beep of heavy equipment backing up. The water oak in
the traffic island is dying and who could blame it—beaten to death by
soundwaves, no doubt. Yesterday, they finally scraped dirt over the riven
places and poured a new sidewalk to replace the one their efforts destroyed. Add
to that the deafening grinding of ceramic tile by my contractor, and even the
feral cat has jumped ship. Liza and I went underground. It’s been a noisy few
weeks.
I’m not
sure we city dwellers understand the impact of noise on our body/mind. We may
not even notice it, (although those of us who need quiet to concentrate
certainly do) but we are constantly subjected to noise, from barking-dogs, to cat-fights,
firetrucks, and leaf-blowers. City sounds crash against the tympanic membrane inside
our skulls. They contribute to our distractedness and fatigue, and we are more
anxious because of it. Noise pollution also contributes to hypertension,
hearing loss, sleep disorders, and cardiovascular disease. Those guys operating
the jackhammers and leaf-blowers will almost certainly have significant
hearing loss by midlife.
Truth
is, we can’t live in a city and not be assaulted by noise, so for our own
health and wellbeing, we should come up with some ways to relieve the stress.
Music is one of them—not heavy metal, but soft and melodious. Even soft rock
music, played at low volume is soothing. Natural sounds are another—the real
ones are best. The sound of waves lapping on the shore, wind rustling leaves, birdsong,
crickets chirping, water gurgling around rocks—all of these entrain our
brainwaves and calm us. If you can’t find these sounds in the natural world
around you, recordings are helpful.
Another
reason to provide quiet for oneself is more soulful. We cannot hear that still,
small voice within when we are surrounded by noise. We cannot “hear ourselves
think,” or listen to our intuitive, creative voice in the presence of noise.
Even prayer and meditation are difficult.
But, as I sit
writing this morning, I hear crows calling to one another and a soft rain is
falling. The construction equipment is gone and there are no ambulances
hurtling toward downtown hospitals. The medivac helicopter is parked on a
rooftop, and the Avondale brewery is closed until lunchtime. All is quiet. I
think I’ll go outside and watch the trees dancing in the wind.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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