Prince Edward County February 25, 2022
We took advantage of a sunny morning this past week to drive to Prince Edward County, the peninsula just south of where we live which juts into Lake Ontario. Our destination was a long, sandy municipal beach which doesn't have many visitors at this time of year. It turned out that we were the only ones there, other than waterfowl, for the 90 minutes or so we ambled along.
We found an old log sheltered by a dune and parked our old bones to share a thermos of tea and a snack. It was a rare day because there was no wind and with the total absence of human-made noise we could hear the chirping of a raft of long-tailed ducks and the Canada geese floating peacefully just offshore. We marvelled at the holy quiet of this place and gave thanks to the Creator, as we endeavour to do whenever we're outdoors.
Yesterday I read an opinion piece by Elizabeth Renzetti in the Globe and Mail newspaper called Turn down the racket, we’re trying to live here. Renzetti has lived in several large cities on both sides of the Pond and is aware of the attempts to reduce the ever-growing levels of noise, the "Unwanted Sound of Everything we Want" to once again invoke the title of a book by Garret Keizer. She mentions the incessant din of the recent occupation of Ottawa, a three-week nightmare which still haunts some residents with phantom noise. But she also notes that:
The noise of an average city, while preferable to screeching air horns and bursts of fireworks, is still too loud for good health. Noise pollution is an invisible health hazard and easy to overlook, but in fact prolonged exposure to loud noise is associated with higher levels of heart disease and high blood pressure, impaired cognition and poor mental health. Not to mention damaged hearing...
I would add my conviction that it contributes to a decline in spiritual health. When we are subjected to endless noise, including that created by "friendly" devises such as televisions and radios and podcasts our ability to listen for the loving, challenging voice of God is compromised.
Through the years I have informally taken time in the silence closer to home, whenever possible, attempting to be attuned to the One who loves me. I have also travelled considerable distances for the same purpose, including a retreat cabin at the Anishnabe Jesuit Centre in Northern Ontario, the retreat house at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, a secluded house on an island off Newfoundland, and the silence house at the Taize Christian community in France. The list is actually lengthier! In some of these settings I didn't speak to another human for days and in all of them I felt greater spiritual clarity and calm. I realize that there is a certain privilege in being able to do so which I will never take for granted.
Casa del Sol Retreat House, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico
What needs to take place in urban settings so that people and other creatures are not bombarded by noise? In many cities birds are singing louder to be heard above the street sounds.
Renzetti shares that cities such as Toronto, London, Paris, and Berlin are instituting a combination of carrot and stick initiatives. Along with stricter noise bylaws and higher fines they are attempting to change the urban landscape to mitigate sound, everything from vehicle-free areas to tree-planting.
Surely this is part of the commitment to observing the Sabbath, which is such an important biblical directive -- its a commandment, not a suggestion, and one of the lengthiest. I like the way Renzetti's piece concludes, so here it is:
It was actually in Berlin where I learned the power of silence as a communal force for good. Germany has a long-standing tradition of Ruhezeit, “quiet time” or “quiet hours” that mandate when noise has to be kept to a minimum. Germans will tell newcomers about bylaws preventing car-washing or vacuuming on Sundays, sort of like telling terrifying fables to children to keep them in line.
The reality is that you’re not likely to be arrested for mowing your lawn on a Sunday, but you might get a hairy eyeball from your neighbour. I once received a stern lecture from someone in another apartment after I’d put bottles in the communal recycling on a Sunday. It was verboten, even though I’d tried to do it as quietly as possible. I slunk back to my apartment and did not disturb the peace again.
Germans are very good at recognizing the regenerative power of calm and quiet, not just for themselves but for their neighbourhoods and communities. Maybe the message is beginning to spread – quietly but far and wide.
I may have exclaimed "yes!" out loud when I read this because for years I've felt that intentional quiet hours in urban and suburban settings would benefit us all, whether we realized it or not.
Can you, will you remember the Sabbath and keep it holy today?
Change Islands, Newfoundland
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