Shhh,,, did you hear that? This is World Listening Day, which falls each year on July 18th, and I like that it's on a Sunday this year. Christians are invited to listen to the Word when they gather for Sunday worship. We also acknowledge that there are two books through which God speaks, the book of scripture and the book of nature and we are to give our attention to both.
This morning we awoke at the country home of the older of our two daughters. We were up before the family so headed outside with our cups of coffee. Traffic on the often busy road nearby hadn't started, the young guys on their dirt bikes probably wouldn't be up for hours and construction workers on a job site nearby had the day off. So we could "hear ourselves think" and could listen to the birds around us in abundance. Our ability to give thanks to the Creator was greatly enhanced by the avian choir.
We're told that noise, which is not the same as sound, is adversely affecting creatures in every nook and cranny of the planet, including the depths of the oceans. In some settings birds are increasing the volume of their mating songs in order to compete with human-made noise. I'm becoming an increasingly grumpy geezer because other geezers who live nearby see fit to use leaf blowers every day, as if their lawns are their living rooms.
The theme for this World Listening Day is The Unquiet Earth, which could be a lament, a complaint, or a call to attention. I'm inclined toward a quieter Earth, with less human noise. Yet we can celebrate the "unquiet" if there is room for many voices without drowning out others with our noise. Here is the way this year's focus is described:
The theme for 2021 “The Unquiet Earth” is an invitation to reflect on and engage with the constant murmur of the Earth, sounds beyond the threshold of human hearing, to remind ourselves that we share this mysterious and awesome planet. Small, hidden, subterranean, aerial, underwater, infra- and ultrasonic sounds, inaudible to the naked ear, can bring a new, potentially hopeful, perspective on the future of the planet and humanity. Listening as activism encourages us to question our attitudes as listeners as we aim to construct a more inclusive and empathetic new world. Join the unquiet revolution!
Thank God for this World Listening Sunday.
2 comments:
I have been very aware of the increase in noise since we moved into stage 3...the lack of traffic during the pandemic has been a blessing in disguise.
I so wish that noise was taken as seriously as other pollution threats and that there were strictly regulations. Thanks for commenting Judy.
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