I live in a city, a big city, and it’s pretty hard to find quiet here. My neighborhood is remarkably quiet for the density of people around me, but it’s nowhere near acutal quiet. I grew up in a pretty background-noise free home (no TV, minimal radio, normal-voiced conversations) in a suburban environment. Being in the flight-path of O’Hare airport made up for a quiet-ish house, however, and I only found real silence when visiting friends in the country. Clock tickings and crickets were about the only sounds at night, and it was almost too quiet for me to sleep!
I miss silence in my life now, there’s a healing quality to it … it truly is golden. I never take music when I run, preferring whatever ambient noise is around me to yet another soundtrack in my head. Being alone with my thoughts is all too rare these days, and I’ll take any chance I can get. My kids are big talkers, and Douglas especially is a blitherer … if he’s not reading, he’s talking or making noise of some sort.
How about you, how silent/noisy is your environment? Do you wish it were different?