The Sound of Silence
One thing I am coming to realize is that without TV in my life (going on 7 years now), I have become extremely sensitive to noise.
Of course sometimes I am in the mood for some music to lift my spirits, or a podcast to fire up my lazy neurons, and I always try to listen to the morning and evening news on NPR in order to feel informed.
But quite honestly, more often than not, these days I choose silence.
I like to hear the furnace turning on and off, the cockatiels making their happy beak-grindings before they drift off for a nap, the wind rustling the tall pines that surround my house, the squeak of the living room floor in that one particular place as I walk across it.
I find that if I am surrounded by extraneous sounds all day, even if it is merely the pleasant melody of music, I get crabby and fatigued.
This post won’t change the world. It’s just a random thought about life without TV.
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(Photo thanks to morguefile.com and photographer Wally Irwin.)
Tags: Everything Else!, noise, TV, TV, TV-free family, unplugging the familyRelated posts
Posted: June 2nd, 2008 under Everything Else!, TV, unplugging the family.
Tags: noise, TV, TV-free family
Comments
Comment from Andrée
Time: June 3, 2008, 3:38 am
and here, you miss the cries of alarm from the crows as hawks fly over. Or of the blackbirds when a crow tries to steal a baby or when a heron enters the blackbird nursery in the bog. There is the total silence when deer or moose mosey on by. The sound of the wood thrush every morning and every sunset. Or of the rain as it falls in the forest behind me, as the storm moves down the mountain towards me . . . . TV has altered our consciousness.
Andrées last blog post..farmer bob’s heifers - 32 [Flickr]
Comment from Kayris
Time: June 3, 2008, 10:37 am
I agree! My mom likes to have talk radio on in the background, but I find the constant noise to be annoying. As city residents, we have to have a high tolerance for noise, but it also means I crave silence. It’s why the middle of the night or very early in the morning are my favorite times because it’s so quiet and I can hear myself think.
Kayriss last blog post..Kitchen Disasters
Comment from Nicole
Time: June 3, 2008, 11:05 am
Funny that you should mention this. Just today I was sitting in my rocking chair with my bible and coffee thinking about how nice it was to listen to the birds chirping outside rather than the news blaring in the living room.
Nicoles last blog post..Muslims & America
Comment from nina
Time: June 6, 2008, 3:31 pm
As I listen to “hey mommy, hey mommy, listen to the cymbals” I can only hope to have a bit of silence someday. But I must agree, it would be so much worst with the television or the radio making noise. Both my in-laws and my parents have the television going day and night. It is exhausting to visit them.
ninas last blog post..A little about the books we are enjoying
Comment from PJ
Time: June 7, 2008, 4:25 am
So funny you should post this - we had a playgroup at our house yesterday and only 2 other mommies came but each had 2 kids so we had 6 kids in total in our fairly small living room. It was bedlam! (but that is wonderful noise, of course!) Afterwards I was thinking about when we used to live in Mexico City and our apartment didn’t have central air or heat and we were in a tall building on top of a hill overlooking a traffic roundabout. You could see the traffic below but couldn’t hear it. At the time I didn’t realize how truly tranquil it was until i returned to the states. Everything beeps, buzzes and whirs here. And of course being in the city we have lots of traffic noise as well. It’s taken me now nearly 3 years to get accustomed to the noise again. And the beeps still make me a little crazy!
PJs last blog post..Fun with Numbers
Comment from CelticMommy
Time: June 14, 2008, 8:54 pm
In the mornings before the boys are awake, I read or crochet or sew to nature. Sometimes I can hear birds, the sprinklers running… sadly I don’t hear much with my hearing… but I do hear myself thinking. :-) I can formulate lists of things I need to do, ideas for a new bag or scarf, etc.
Then, when the munchkins are up, we eat breakfast and walk in the silence. Our everyday observation walks include the 5 senses, so listening is great fun for them in trying to figure out what and where the noises come from.
From about 10:30 to 4:30 it’s usually music my hubby has ripped from our CDs… I have every kind of playlist (kids, alternative, etc.) to choose from that can come out on the house and backyard speakers. Meals are always together and nearly always quiet… so we can all talk to one another.
CelticMommys last blog post..For my wonderful Husband!
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