Blog: Sounds, Silence, Community

SOUNDS: There are so many sounds I just love to hear. The Dr.’s voice “Mother and baby are both fine” The grandkids in the room next door just having fun together. The key opening the front door as my teen-ager returns from her date. The Hallelujah Chorus. The roar of the crowd at a home game with my team scoring the winning run. The plop at the bottom of the cup after a long putt. The intimate whisper that says, “I love you” The very personal sounds of satisfying sex with one’s spouse. The train whistle in the dark distance. The hustle and bustle of people, cars, buses, policemen, hawkers of central Hong Kong or downtown Manhattan. Soft and gentle or raucous and lively, I love sounds.

SOUNDS: There are so many sounds I hate to hear. A parent yelling putdowns to her child. Heavy rock metal. Your flight has been delayed. The stock market is down 500 points. A religious zealot telling me that “if you just…” The answering machine telling me I have 21 messages. Unfortunately the test results came out…” The talk show host who just won’t shut up. The alarm clock after what seems like just minutes since I fell asleep.

SILENCE: There is a silence I love. I walk in silence under the majestic redwoods of Muir Woods. The TV is off, no one speaks, no cars are within earshot. The rare quiet of the sanctuary before the prelude. The loud couple at the restaurant table next to ours has just signed their credit card. Parent-teacher conferences are over for the day and I sit at my desk alone. I stand alone at sunset over my parents’ grave in the Texas country church graveyard. I lie awake at 2:00 am and just reflect and all is okay.

SILENCE: There is a silence I don’t like. I wait for the phone to ring with good news, but there is no ring. I make a presentation to a class, ask for reaction and no one speaks, I ponder a tragedy, I ask, “WHY?” and can hear no response from anywhere. I do something well and await some affirmation but no words reach my ears. I seek for just the right words to say to someone in pain but come up only with silence.

COMMUNITY: I reflect upon SOUND and SILENCE as I read about David Brooks new book, “The Social Animal”. From it I learn an essential truth: In all my sounds and silences there is a part of me that is seeking a “connection, a closing of the loneliness loop, an urge to merge a community. In all my sounds, in all my silences, I am never completely alone. I am connected with nature, with others, with the eternal.