This morning on the radio I heard frustrated residents of a downtown Toronto neighbourhood speaking about the pollution that is driving them crazy. Forget the "usual suspects" of air pollution or nasty stuff bubbling up from the ground. It is the noise from a nearby construction site. GO Transit is putting in new rail line and massive pile drivers are pounding foundation material into the ground. The impact is so great that buildings shake, and the local residents are subjected to loud noise all day long. One person was contemplating moving because this will continue for 16 months!
Studies show that the rising background din of our urban and suburban worlds does have a psychological and physiological impact on us. I would offer my anecdotal support of this. When I was on restorative leave last summer I spent two months on a remote farm where the "noise" was the sound of birds, the wind in the trees, and the nightime rumble of a waterfall more than a kilometre away. A car passing by on the road was an occasion. I knew then and still know that this blessed quiet was part of my healing.
Orion magazine published an article last Fall called Silence Like Scouring Sand. http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/3627/ It was about a project to find a place in the United States where there are no human sounds. A National Parks Service worker has gone deep into Olympic National Park, searching for a spot where no human sounds are heard for fifteen minutes. I know some of you think this is bizarre, but to me it is a dream job. We walk around here a lot, and we are keenly aware of the constant noise which pushes in on solitude.
At the beginning of Lent we heard about Jesus going into the wilderness for forty days to get ready for the challenges of his mission, and the gospels tell us that he would go into the hills for prayer and spiritual replenishment.
Do you think noise is a form of pollution? Are you comfortable with silence? What do you do to get your "fix" of quiet?
You are talking to a parent of teenagers here. Please don't taunt me with the knowledge that there is somewhere on the planet where I could have 15 minutes of silence.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting today, when we did are one hour of Earth Hour and shut off all lights and computers in the building. As I was walking down the hall the first thing I mentioned to a colleague was how quiet it was, even though we are a building of over 500 children! He agreed, it was quiet.
ReplyDeleteI crave quiet and the best place I find it is the lake! Can't wait 'til summer and my return to the lake!
I too love silence and it definitely is hard to find a place where there is absolute quiet.
ReplyDeleteI expect that a place of silence would be a teenager's idea of hell.
What about those "silent retreats" one hears about where you are not supposed to talk at all. Now that would be hard.
I have noticed in our Tuesday evening Lenten Study that the minute (or two) of silence we begin with almost startles me. It is so quiet with this reverant group that the clock ticking sounds loud. This experience makes me realize I have quiet time in my life, which I crave, but rarely silence. In our busy technologically advanced world manmade sound is a constant. The sound of silence is a most beautiful noise.
ReplyDeleteJust to update. I do know the difference between "are" are "our". Too many noises in my life distracting me and I made a typo!:)
ReplyDeleteIt's just fair Nancy. When I catch my typos I can go back in and fix them! The content about kids being quiet was what mattered, and it's good to know that it is possible.
ReplyDeleteI have spent time in extended silence several times. There is a retreat house at the Taize Christian communtity in France where visitors can spend a week in silence. I did so, but soon realized that other retreatants cheated with abandon! Why bother "signing on" if you are going to cheat on yourself?
I have found with the passage of years that I need the silence and solitude more, and experience God in a more profound way in solitude. Or at least the door is opened for God to speak.
After I wrote this blog I thought about parents, particularly mothers, who don't get much opportunity for silence.
Thanks everyone.