Bird Droppings November 16, 2012

Why not quietly pursue Silence?

 

I was standing in my back yard listening. There was silence. As I stood how easy is it to find fear and or solace in silence. Many horror movies over the years and of course books for those of us who still read feature silence in all the buildup. How difficult is it to find silence? By chance today our sky is overcast and low which helps muffle the sounds of nature.

 

“Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after satiety as after disappointment; that background which the painter may not daub, be he master or bungler, and which, however awkward a figure we may have made in the foreground, remains ever our inviolable asylum, where no indignity can assail, no personality can disturb us.” Thoreau, Henry David

 

Sitting here in near silence in my kitchen working at my computer is relaxing and somewhat peaceful. The chill of the morning brought me in. I seemed to have forgotten to put shoes on and my bare feet were getting frost bitten. I took my dog’s advice as she ran for the door. I have always enjoyed the calming effect of silence. But in a paradoxical way silence for some can be an effective torture. Taking away that sensation and limiting to only ones thoughts can for some be overcoming.

 

“The Pause; that impressive silence, that eloquent silence, that geometrically progressive silence which often achieves a desired effect where no combination of words, however so felicitous, could accomplish it.” Twain, Mark

Silence is a mighty sword in the hands of a warrior or poet. Yet why do we seek silence why do we try and find a place to wrest away from the hustle and bustle of today’s world? Perhaps it is a contrast we seek. An exact opposite to our daily lives of running around, as if there were no tomorrow. Perhaps silence allows us to see beyond?

“Silence is the true friend that never betrays.” Confucius

 

“Silence is the genius of fools and one of the virtues of the wise” Pope Boniface VIII

 

“Under all speech that is good for anything three lies a silence that is better. Silence is deep as Eternity; speech is shallow as time” Thomas Carlisle

 

I do find rest in the quiet of a forest or field. Often I will try and get away from everything put all aside to have a few minutes without the trappings of our cluttered world. I often wonder at the loud bellowing booming music often spilling from cars as they vibrate with bass so loud the cars are shaking. A joke around the house was a movie featuring a rock band only known for being loud. They were asked how they could be so much louder than all the others and responded they turned up to eleven on the volume, no one else can do that. I thought my son was joking and should have known better as he has had his band experience much more than I. I was in a large music store outside Atlanta and I checked the Marshall Amps, traditionally the biggest and baddest of all amps. They only went to ten. Pondering I recall a Ted Nugent concert that was built up to be so great. I walked in and walked out far too loud and too crude in the music coming from his amps. Might have been a sort of fortune telling event since I still nearly forty years later find him loud and crude and irrelevant.

So I wonder can I find that place where sound and noise is reversed and find a negative one. Set it to one point on the dial less than zero and a very silent amp. I seriously doubt anyone would applaud a really silent amp or rock band. Well maybe parents and folks parked next to those cars with fifty inch woofers. Could that place of ultimate silence be where you can truly find solace and peace?  I attended another concert over thirty five years ago in the Fox theatre on Peachtree Street. After having played for an hour with his band Harry Chapin strode on the stage harmonica in hand and sat at the edge of the massive Fox stage curtains drawn shut. The crowd fell silent you could hear a pin drop. He began singing and there was not a dry eye in the house. For nearly thirty minutes he sang and played harmonica with no speakers, no amps and no band. We were in awe and between each note silence.

 

“Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together; that at length they may emerge, full-formed and majestic, into the daylight of Life, which they are thenceforth to rule.” Thomas Carlisle

 

For many seeking spiritual boundaries and finding doorways past where we are silence has always been a key. The great mystics of days gone by would retreat in silence often for days. Shamans and holy men seeking visions to guide their people would seclude themselves and find silence in order to delve deeper into their own existence. With many indigenous tribes it in silence you understand rather than in speech. Many times the used car mentality of white leaders considered the silence of the chiefs to be a lack of understanding and in reality it was one of respect and thorough understanding. All through man’s history silence has been a place of spiritual findings. Yet it too is one of fear for so many.

 

“A horrid stillness first invades the ear, And in that silence we the tempest fear.” John Dryden

 

Perhaps when we encounter something we are not accustomed to it is when we fear. Those seeking silence are on their own trying to find answers. Most people are content with the noise of the world. Being thrust into silence could be confusing. As I stood listening to see if the morning was truly silent after about ten minutes or so a rooster cut loose and I knew I would open my eyes to the world I left briefly in the quiet of the morning. Please keep all in harm’s way on your mind and in your hearts and to always give thanks namaste.

 

 

Wa de (Skee)

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