Sunday, June 29, 2008

Moving.

I've been living on my own for the last two years. Five years before that, I left home but always roomed with other people. Tomorrow night I leave this place for another, with friends, but only for a short while.

Living alone has been an amazing experience. Lonely at times, but a dream come true for those taken to thought in solitude. A chance to shut out all the voices and lyrics, and rythms and ryhmes ... an opportunity to learn a little something about oneself.

People are generally bad listeners. I think we can all agree. Have you ever wondered why? Look carefully ...

You wake up to the radio.
You sing in the shower.
You listen to music as you drive to work.
or wear headphones while you commute.
You purchase your coffee in the hustle and bustle ...
You chat, answer calls, discuss plans, goals, returns ...
all throughout the day.
Only to again drive home with the same music
and mix it up with a little t.v.
or even more music while you workout.
And sometimes, when the mood is right,
and the music is playing
and he whispers sweet nothings into your ear,
you make love.

How do you expect people to listen to you when they can't even hear themselves?

To bring it all back together ... my time alone has been great but I'm happy to see it goodbye. It's time to move on but the learnings I shall take with me. And when I get married this October, maybe my wife and I will still find time to sit in silence. Maybe even together ... maybe words will be too little and in the silence, then and maybe then, we will have the opportunity to really hear one another.

5 comments:

Eve Grey said...

Really nice post.
I love silence actually and turn off music all the time so I can think. Sometimes too much.

Anonymous said...

It's weird, sometimes silence can be just as deafening as noise, and noise can often be our source of relief.

neutron said...

Hi Eve. Is there such a thing as too much? Either way, keep it up!

Coffeenista, very interesting comment. Why do you think that is? I'm probably going to blog about that in the next day or so.

Anonymous said...

I think there's a couple of reasons why silence can be deafening. Somethings may become too clear in silence, and noise is our escape from reality. It can be a lonely silence and we may want to fill that void.

neutron said...

coffeenista, well said (written).