Thursday, April 5, 2012

Awareness

As I enjoy my garden this spring afternoon, I am overwhelmed by the music that I hear.

Right in front of me can be heard the songs of the many species of birds that we share our garden with. But in the distance, I can hear the sounds of a lawnmower making it's first spring passes across the neighbors lawn and even the sounds of the nearby road with all the life that it brings to our neighborhood.


Each day, we are bombarded with noise. But is it noise? Or is it the sounds of life?

Stop for just a second and listen real close to your surroundings. Try to name at least 5 distinct sounds in your environment.

It's amazing how much effort it takes to focus our awareness.
Practice, practice.

OK, that's all for today. Carry on.


p.s. Sorry about the shaky camera... I'm new to this video thing.

5 comments:

MorningAJ said...

Years ago when I was young I lived in a village but we were on the edge of it and there were some major transport lines going past us. I would lie in bed at night and listen in 'waves' further and further away, starting with what I could hear in the garden, then the nearby farm, then the road, and right in the distance - the train tracks. It was very relaxing.

Unknown said...

That sounds so nice. We have train tracks about 2 miles away and can hear them passing from time to time too.
When I lived by Lake Huron, I'd love to hear the fog horns from the ships in the night.
I even enjoy the occasional siren.(Except the tornado siren, which I can see from my sunroom window).

Moving with Mitchell said...

Lots of fascinating sounds here, but no lawn mowers. Unusual for me is the man who has a knife-sharpening machine on the back of his moped. He repeats a ditty on a pan flute to let the neighbors know he's available as he walks his moped through the streets.

Unknown said...

What a kewl buisness.
Would never work here.

Jim said...

I love to 'tune in' to the environment around me. Sometimes I do not like what I hear, especially when in the city and buses go by with all their noise. But there is not too much that I don't like hearing.
I LOVE it when the birds arrive back in spring and are awake so early....singing away.