Silence Is Golden

When I was a child, I would take long walks down unpaved, winding country roads. Much of the land was undeveloped and sometimes there was two, three miles distance between houses. Often, I would hear a cow mooing in a pasture to my right or left, tiny birds chirping happily, even the occasional buzzard or chicken hawk overhead.

It was so quiet, I could hear voices on the telephone wires strung on wooden poles alongside the roads. (I was a bit curious as to how the faint voices could 'leak' from the wires. I'm sure there is a logical explanation though I never bothered to research. Sounds like a good rainy day project). Other than that, the world was virtually silent. Even the sound of an approaching A or B model Ford was pretty much a rarity.

As years passed, not for once did I ever think I would again experience that pristine quietness. And yet, I have.

With all the horrific tragedies brought about by the recent pandemic, also came a small, sweet reward to my doubting mind...silence.

There is virtually no traffic in my area at this time. And while it would be nice to hear the laughter of children playing in their back yards, strangely, I hear almost none.

For me, silence produces feelings associated with peace. I like that. But I'm not naive enough to think it would produce the same feelings in children with energy to burn. Their brains crave learning and knowledge. Sadly, with the onslaught of incoming data, comes noise to which they have become accustomed. It's unavoidable.

Still, there might be some advantage to our children experiencing this temporary quiet period in their lives. Maybe fifty years from now, with the world as we know it, a long gone thing of the past; they will reflect on the present quietness and maybe even relate to their grandchildren how at the time the silence seemed so boring and restrictive; in retrospect, it was indeed quite nice.

Silence puts you in a place closer to your own self. A therapeutic place we need occasionally in our hectic lives. In our rush to get things back to 'normal', let's not forget to take advantage of the current quietness. It might just be the last time you will ever have the opportunity.

Silence truly is golden.