I listen a lot of music. IPod and earphone were the most important items in my pocket. Reason why?
Simply, I like music. It is my source of inspiration. Music was my friend since I remember. Also it is a great way to concentrate as well.
But sometimes, frankly, a lot of times, I used music as an escape method from the noise of the city around me. Car horn, people talking, noise of the traffic, sound of the utensils… Funny, these are the kind of sound that I grew up with all my life, but I still need to escape from it. Because, I need to be in a silence sometimes.
I remember, right before I made my big decision, when I’m so sick of everything around me, I thought ‘all I want is silence.’ Not a pile of money, not an expensive holiday, not the fanciest laptop, just silence, that was all I wanted. A place that I can sit quietly and think straight without forcing myself into concentration using music in my ears.
It must be something wrong if I can’t find a single spot that I can be in a silence, I thought. It could mean maybe I wasn’t able to find it, or literally the place around me was too noisy. I bet it was a bit of both. So, I tried it in several different places. I tried to find the piece in my own yard. Late night in my room, early morning in the coffee shop, on the top of the hill in the middle of the night… but I couldn’t find one. There was always music, TV, footsteps, traffic from afar, and occasional dog barking.
When did it become so hard to find silence?
Finally, I claim my silence back; by change my environment around me. The moment after I put my feet out of the airplane, I could easily find the silence and peace around me. All I needed to do was give myself a chance to move my butt, so I did and I found it. Maybe it’s because I’m much more happier than before. Must be.
There was a significant moment, in the White Mountains few days ago. It wasn’t even on the top, and I wasn’t looking for having the moment but it came to me. Everything looked so still, and there was not a single piece of sound. Total silence, that’s what it was. It felt like my brain was breathing through the quietness around me. When I was floating in the canoe on Lake Francis, I had another perfect moment. The loon broke my silence but I didn’t mind it at all. And it gently handed to me a piece of peace, and a smile. That’s what I’m talking about.
Happiness is not the ultimate goal of the life. It is a stage of moment and it should not be so not hard to find. Some would say it’s all matter of what you think, and that is true but sometimes, really the situation itself is the problem. No matter how hard you try, somethings are just not going to change.
So, I change the direction and find my silence in the nature. Escape, runaway, brave move, hide… whatever you call it, I did it and I am quite happy about it so far.
Where is your silence spot? Do you have one?
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Silence is beautiful.
What a wonderful post. Silence is so precious.
I understand you perfectly well , sometimes all I long for is a quiet place – just to sit and think of nothing!
Awesome post. When I need to recharge, it always helps to get out into nature. I don’t always need the type of silence you described but being able to “hear nature” is what brings me a lot of peace =).
I like how u find silence in sounds , i.e. music! I do too;)
Silence gives you that peace of mind that you need. I feel that from time to time. It’s not enough that i have a ‘me’ time. I should have a quiet time so i can think and just be myself without the influence of noise or forces around me.
One of my favorites is tuckerman’s ravine ~ Great place for silence before summiting Washington -enjoy NH
I really need to find silence again. Work is only chaos anymore. And like you I use music to dig out a little bit of order to think but it isn’t silence. Sometimes I have to turn up the music so loud to block out everything that it becomes a distraction as well. Riding my bike to work and back us the closest I get a lot of days of having nothing else to do or concentrate on though it isn’t silence either.
Glad you found yours though. Ill keep looking and trying. I jbiw ill find some at some point.
My turned off car atfer another whole day working… It was pure PEACE what I used to feel at that moment…
That’s why I like the mountains. Total silence. All you can hear is the wind in the trees. Beautiful. I need silence, too, and try to get it regularly, every day. I think there’s the kind of silence that comes from not hanging out on a lot of social media sites, too, so you can think your own thoughts and not have all these other voices and chatter to constantly listen to.
Right now all I can hear is the rain outside, little noises around the house, a clock ticking and my keyboard clacking away. It’s pretty quiet and I like it.
I like music, but there are many times when I just want to turn it off and hear silence.