I’m reminded of this long digression by Italy Calvino at the beginning of a short story called The Adventure of the Poet. I won’t burden the comment section with the full page, but it begins
“In fact every silence consists of the network of minuscule sounds that enfolds it: the silence of the island was distinct from that of the calm sea surrounding it because it was pervaded by a vegetable rustling, the call of birds, or a sudden whir of wings.”
Thanks for stopping by, fellow lawyer! Sorry for the slow reply; this is my first day back at my computer after the holiday. I love that idea of silence as in fact a network of small sounds. Just imagining that web of natural sounds soothes my nerves - I suppose we evolved in that soundscape and must miss it, on some level. Imagine how many small sounds (vegetable rustlings, wing whirs) we never hear because of the constant drone of artificial noise we're inundated in.
Love this piece! I find myself very sensitive to sound in general. I live in Miami, Florida. I'd argue it's as noisy as any City. Interesting to see the route of noise, nausea. When there's too much noise I do get physically nauseous! Don't get me started on the leaf blowers! They are ubiquitous. Which is funny because they are fairly pointless. What's interesting is a lot of folks feel the way I do but we do nothing about it. Sidebar, Antonia Malchick who's substack , on the commons, also writes about "the Walking Life", about her efforts to reshape the community away from roadways and favoring more pedestrian infrastructure. It all ties in! You can tell my mind is all over the place on this. Anyway ,I appreciate your writing. Thanks!
Thank you, Michael! I am so happy something in here spoke to you. :)
I find children are good indicators of basic human needs. One of which is silence. Of course, kids love to MAKE a lot of noise, but they really seem to thrive when artificial noise is not externally imposed on them. It's incredible to watch the way kids act when they are backpacking in the wilderness (after they've stopped complaining about how far they had to hike). It's almost the polar opposite to the "I'm bored" whining of a kid in a living room. I find even the most phone-addicted teens blossom when surrounded only by the sounds of nature and conversation.
I really love Antonia Malchik's writing. I only discovered her a few weeks ago, and I became an immediate subscriber.
Thanks again for chiming in ... this was one of my favorite pieces to research and write.
In my older years I notice the noise of our industrial age and find it unpleasant and unhealhy. Where I live in urban Toronto, planes fly overhead on their way to the airport. It is particularly noisy in the morning around 7. They fly so low, I can tell which airline is above me.
I would rather hear the sounds of my bird companions, the blue jays, the sparrows, the crows, the starlings and, sometimes, the ravens cawing to each other. It is not that there is too much noise, it is that there is too much industrial non-natural noises. We were not meant to listen to this sickening din of machinery.
The worst, by the way, are the gas-powered leaf blowers. This symbolizes, more than anything, what is wrong with humans.
A wonderful experience for a guest, indeed. 💚 I think maybe the single best thing I’ve ever done for my family’s health was to get rid of our TV, maybe 20 years ago, now. When I visit homes where the TV stays on all day, I leave feeling almost ill. We are not meant to hear the artificial noise of our own voices amplified without cease.
Here where we live in northern Romania the world is incredibly quiet. So quiet that you can hear your ears ringing in the dark of night. Some nights not even the dogs bark, for fear of breaking the silence, or for other reasons unknown. Not everyone can handle the silence, but for those of us who prefer less sound, it is the perfect place to call home.
This is beautiful, thank for sharing this list of reading on necessity of solitude and silence. A peaceful weekend reading respite from the noise storms of the week. 💜
I’m reminded of this long digression by Italy Calvino at the beginning of a short story called The Adventure of the Poet. I won’t burden the comment section with the full page, but it begins
“In fact every silence consists of the network of minuscule sounds that enfolds it: the silence of the island was distinct from that of the calm sea surrounding it because it was pervaded by a vegetable rustling, the call of birds, or a sudden whir of wings.”
Thanks for stopping by, fellow lawyer! Sorry for the slow reply; this is my first day back at my computer after the holiday. I love that idea of silence as in fact a network of small sounds. Just imagining that web of natural sounds soothes my nerves - I suppose we evolved in that soundscape and must miss it, on some level. Imagine how many small sounds (vegetable rustlings, wing whirs) we never hear because of the constant drone of artificial noise we're inundated in.
Love this piece! I find myself very sensitive to sound in general. I live in Miami, Florida. I'd argue it's as noisy as any City. Interesting to see the route of noise, nausea. When there's too much noise I do get physically nauseous! Don't get me started on the leaf blowers! They are ubiquitous. Which is funny because they are fairly pointless. What's interesting is a lot of folks feel the way I do but we do nothing about it. Sidebar, Antonia Malchick who's substack , on the commons, also writes about "the Walking Life", about her efforts to reshape the community away from roadways and favoring more pedestrian infrastructure. It all ties in! You can tell my mind is all over the place on this. Anyway ,I appreciate your writing. Thanks!
Thank you, Michael! I am so happy something in here spoke to you. :)
I find children are good indicators of basic human needs. One of which is silence. Of course, kids love to MAKE a lot of noise, but they really seem to thrive when artificial noise is not externally imposed on them. It's incredible to watch the way kids act when they are backpacking in the wilderness (after they've stopped complaining about how far they had to hike). It's almost the polar opposite to the "I'm bored" whining of a kid in a living room. I find even the most phone-addicted teens blossom when surrounded only by the sounds of nature and conversation.
I really love Antonia Malchik's writing. I only discovered her a few weeks ago, and I became an immediate subscriber.
Thanks again for chiming in ... this was one of my favorite pieces to research and write.
In my older years I notice the noise of our industrial age and find it unpleasant and unhealhy. Where I live in urban Toronto, planes fly overhead on their way to the airport. It is particularly noisy in the morning around 7. They fly so low, I can tell which airline is above me.
I would rather hear the sounds of my bird companions, the blue jays, the sparrows, the crows, the starlings and, sometimes, the ravens cawing to each other. It is not that there is too much noise, it is that there is too much industrial non-natural noises. We were not meant to listen to this sickening din of machinery.
The worst, by the way, are the gas-powered leaf blowers. This symbolizes, more than anything, what is wrong with humans.
Yes - I agree. I do some backcountry backpacking, and it's always jarring to be rattled by the drone of a jet when deep in the wilderness.
A marvelous essay. Our household values silence. About the only thing a guest would hear is music. TVs and radios are silenced.
A wonderful experience for a guest, indeed. 💚 I think maybe the single best thing I’ve ever done for my family’s health was to get rid of our TV, maybe 20 years ago, now. When I visit homes where the TV stays on all day, I leave feeling almost ill. We are not meant to hear the artificial noise of our own voices amplified without cease.
We've also been t.v.less for twenty some odd years now too. Never going back on that one!
Brilliant! Agreed! I can't imagine any longer what it would be like to allow that TV energy into my family's home.
Not good. Not good at all.
Here where we live in northern Romania the world is incredibly quiet. So quiet that you can hear your ears ringing in the dark of night. Some nights not even the dogs bark, for fear of breaking the silence, or for other reasons unknown. Not everyone can handle the silence, but for those of us who prefer less sound, it is the perfect place to call home.
It sounds like the purest heaven to me. Maybe I'll be able to visit that gorgeous country someday.
This is beautiful, thank for sharing this list of reading on necessity of solitude and silence. A peaceful weekend reading respite from the noise storms of the week. 💜
Swarnali, I'm so pleased you found your way to this piece. I'm glad it brought you a wee moment of peace. We take what silence we can get, don't we? 💚
Yes, we do 💜