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“Why is running water such balm to the human spirit? Why do we sleep more soundly beside a waterfall than in the quiet forest? Better even than the rainbow–I think–it represents for us the continuing process of life on our planet. The flow of water is the cycle of fertility renewing itself; it happens only because the sun has been shining, the mists rising, and the rains falling in the distant hills. A deep, human instinct of involvement in the onward flow of life, the cyclical movements of nature, has given us this archetype of flowing water, the sound of it telling us that the world is alive–like the sound of a heart beating beside us in sleep.” An excerpt from On The Edge Of Artistic Visions Of The Shrinking Landscape from Dancing On The Shore by Harold Horwood, that was sent to me via e-mail sometime back by a listener.
“I saw old Autumn in the misty morn / Stand shadowless like silence, listening / To silence.” Stanza 1 from Ode: Autumn by Thomas Hood.
Another writer in Istanbul was listening to the city with his eyes closed, and heard a rose dropped from the hands of a woman passing by. I can’t help but wonder what it must be like to be able to listen that intently, to be able to discern a rose falling from the hands of a passerby.
“Deep in my thoughts, I sit down and listen / To this awesome silence.” An excerpt from The Ruined City by Pao Chao (414-466)(China) translated by C. J. Chen and Michael Bullock, and featured in the Quality Paperback Book Club collection, World Poetry.
There are exercises we can perform to hone this talent.
Frank W. Mann from Robins Reader and featured in the Points To Ponder column of the October 1995 issue of the Reader’s Digest wrote what I think are the instructions.
“An enlightening pastime is to make a list of favorite things that impact the senses. Not only does it provide a challenging exercise for the mind and memory but it sharpens our appreciation of these golden moments in time. For example, one person’s list of ten favorite sounds: a mother talking to her new baby; a distant train whistle; the scrunch of leaves on a bright autumn day; a hound baying in the woods at night; the absolute silence of a mountain lake at sunset; sea gulls crying; a stadium crowd singing the national anthem; a crackling fire on a bitter day; the screech of airplane tires as they touch down; his wife’s voice at morning. Try the exercise for favorite sounds, smells or sights. You may learn something about yourself.”
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Don Jackson
