Sounds of the Silence

"The word 'listen' contains the same letters as the word 'silent.'"
--Alfred Brendel, Austrian pianist

Both my sister and my Dad live in suburban neighborhoods with beautiful old trees, lots of green grass scattered with flowering trees and shrubs, and the sound of kids and dogs playing in the yards nearby. Yet, although they live on quiet side streets, there are bustling boulevards and busy highways just around the corner out of sight that create a constant buzz of passing cars in the distance.

So, one of the first things they both do when they come up to the hill in Corning is sit on the deck, close their eyes and listen to the silence. Admittedly, the quiet is one of the best things about our house here in the woods, and is especially wonderful when Chris and I first come out of the madness of China. In fact, the quiet can sometimes be deafening as we lie in our bed at night listening to the stillness of the night all around us - that being said, I think it's safe to say we quickly adapt!

True, the quiet up here on the hill is a welcome reprieve and, not surprisingly, we find it soothing. However, there was a time not so long ago when all the quiet would have made me nervous and uncomfortable. Having lived in big cities my entire adult life, I'd become accustomed to, even calmed by, the sounds of the city outside my windows. Now, I'm strangely content to hear nothing outside except, perhaps, the wind blowing through the trees or the rain falling on the roof. Even the deer seem to respect our quiet reprieve as they pass noiselessly past the windows, setting off the motion lights to let us know they're keeping watch close by.

Although the nights are still and silent, the sounds of nature are all around us as we sit out on the deck during the day, both soothing and stimulating us at the same time. They bring back memories of the Burgess books I read as a kid about the adventures and everyday lives of various animals living in the woods, making me wonder why those stories couldn't possibly be true. The chipmunks scurrying along the fence and across the deck are clearly living very busy interesting lives, and I can't help but think there are many more inhabitants of the woods having equally fascinating adventures!

My Dad enjoys the challenge of Sudoku with his coffee after breakfast and has gotten quite good at the tricky puzzles. Being hopeless with numbers myself, I'm always impressed that he finds these number games relaxing and regularly finds an hour or two during the day to exercise his brain with them. Of course, he says the quiet of the morning on the deck helps immensely, but I think it's just his way of letting me know how content he is to sit and relax in his favorite chair, pondering the green of the woods, watching the chipmunks race across the lawn, and listening to the sounds of the silence.