Throughout the years, I’ve heard more and more people complaining about the volume of kids’ stereos. Parents of teenagers, especially, seem to have a lot of complaints. From time to time I, too, have heard a throbbing bass beat while walking downtown and have turned my head, only to find a car full of teenagers driving by. I can’t imagine what the purpose is of having their stereos so loud—surely conversation cannot take place when you can’t even hear your own thoughts? Not to mention the damage they must be doing to their hearing! Just another example of teen belief that they are indestructible and invincible.
I digress. With the growing volume of our world, I find myself yearning more and more to spend time in nature. Not just a central park where street noises would still be accessible to the ears, but far-reaching, deafening “nature silence.” Just me, the birds, the bees, the trees, and hopefully not too many mosquitoes.
Sometimes all it takes for me to find my natural silence is to listen to some pre-recorded sounds of nature on headphones, close my eyes, and imagine I’m deep in the Grand Canyon or on a secluded island in the middle of an ocean. Other times, I satisfy my cravings by going to the library and pulling out the grand old encyclopedias and travel books and planning trips I would take, if only finances allowed. After all, the library is one place one can usually find silence, even in Metropolis