Thoughts on Silence and Noise
Posted: Saturday, November 13, 2010
by Donovan Baldwin
No Diet 4 Me
Here I go, thinking again...and worse, writing it down!
The other day, indulging one of my favorite pastimes, I was browsing one of the bargain tables at Borders. I stumbled across a small book, "Silence and Noise...Growing Up Zen in America", by Ivan Richmond.
The title, and a scan of the contents, piqued my interest and I invested the huge sum of $3.00, if I remember correctly.
The writing seemed to help him put some of his own thoughts in order.
What struck me almost immediately was one major difference between American society, and the world, it seems, and the life of a Buddhist. One is full of sound, i.e. the noise, and the other is full of silence.
At one point in the book, the author makes the point that the word "noise" is applied to many things, not just sound. The little pulsating dots on a TV screen, for example, are often referred to as noise. They are not an actual piece of any picture which may be on the screen, and may actually detract from it.
Having ADHD, I identify with the concept of "noise" on many levels. Even within my own brain, in the quietest place I can find, it throws images, memories, interpretations, and extrapolations at me in a barrage which tends to drown out the idea on which I am trying to concentrate.
As some who have read what I write are aware, I used to a long haul truck driver with many over-the-road miles, and experiences. One memory stands out quite clearly (go figure) in my mind when I try to imagine "noise". It was winter, and I had just passed through Laramie, Wyoming, westbound to California. I had been driving though snow for several hours, but, as I began the climb out of Laramie, the snow began to come at my windshield in nearly blinding flurries.
Suddenly my brain was telling me that the truck was standing still, and the snow was blowing at me!
In actuality, of course, I was driving a moving vehicle which weighed several thousand pounds on a road where the edge markers were rapidly disappearing as was the road itself, while experiencing an illusion of stillness in a storm...an illusion so perfect that I had to convince myself to go with what I knew to be the truth rather than that which my eyes were telling me.
I literally snapped my perception back to reality.
Fortunately, a parking area which I knew of was very near and I was able to tuck in until the snow let up. Even after I stopped the truck, however, as I looked out into the night, my brain would try to shift back and forth between an image of driving into the snow and the snow being driven into my windshield.
The snow was "noise". It distracted me from reality and made me lose the train of thought which was most important to me at the time.
Having ADHD and having played around with meditation in an attempt to learn how to maintain focus and concentration, I see the problem. I also see how our modern society is so full of "noise" that it can be very hard for people to live comfortably within the context of their own thoughts and to create a life which intentionally contains at least pockets of silence in which the mind can dream dreams, solve problems, or simply enjoy peace.
It amazes me how many people must have a TV or radio going or a cell phone thingie in their ear, or simply cannot exist comfortably in silence with their own thoughts. I value the moments that I can scrounge a bit of silence and allow my brain to pick its way along some path, like a hiker in the woods, constantly following a pleasant trail which actually is taking me somewhere while having the opportunity to savor the beauty of the world around me.
I guess I didn't really go anywhere with this article. After all, it is only a collection of a few random thoughts which I was able to gather in a short period without noise.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Donovan Baldwin is a 65-year-old accountant, amateur bodybuilder, freelance writer, certified optician, and Internet marketer currently living in the Atlanta, Gerogia area. A University Of West Florida alumnus (1973) with a BA in accounting, he has been a member of Mensa and has been a Program Accountant for the Florida State Department of Education, the Business Manager of a community mental health center, and a multi-county Fiscal Consultant for an educational field office. He has also been a trainer for a major international corporation, and has managed various small businesses, including his own. After retiring from the U. S. Army in 1995, with 21 years of service, he became interested in Internet marketing and developed various online businesses. He has been writing poetry, articles, and essays for over 40 years, and now frequently publishes original articles on his own websites and for use by other webmasters. He has posted a series of articles on The Law of Attraction , and other self-improvement issues at xtramoney4me.net/internetmarketing/reviews/law_of_attraction_articles/index.html .
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Top-level comments on this article: (7 total)I was much older before I came to understand the saying that silence is golden. Today I take advantage of it every chance I get. Silence and beauty meld together and become like wisdom for living and seeking God first. Thank you for the reminder.
Very meaningful random thoughts, though. I have an over-active brain and I often struggle to create mental boundaries which will keep out irrelevant images and noise, which includes people's unexpressed emotions! I also can't understand how people can live with continual TV or radio, I'd go beserk!
Thank you for the comments, ladies. I don't mind a little noise, or as some would call it, "entertainment". However, I have to crawl inside my brain and just play around in there from time to time. I have ADHD and the constant stream of "stuff" which originates in my head without any help from the outside world is distracting enough by itself.
Hi Donovan.
Actually, I thought it had a very important point. "Noise" distracts us from truly "seeing" what is around us ... or in us.
I loved your illustrations and thought the whole thing was very well presented.
Hugs,
Dianne
Most people come home and put the radio or television on, as background audio wallpaper and go about their interior business without really listening to them; silence is deafening and unpleasant to many because they dislike and almost fear being alone and more than anything, being alone with their own thoughts.
Thank you for sharing a zen insightful perspective, within you.
Paul
Hi Donovan. I love this article. I totally understand the need for silence. In my earlier life as a Recruiter, I felt like I was always On Stage interacting with people in a spotlight sort of setting. I was very good at my job, and placed many people into satisfying jobs and careers. When I got home, I would often feel the need to just sit and stare at a wall to rejuvenate. I didn't want music on, I didn't want the TV, I wanted nothing but silence to settle my thoughts and get ready for another ON day. (As a mom, I rarely get quiet moments anymore. But, I'll take snuggles from a toddler over staring at a wall any day as a way to reboot!)
No, you were wrong. You did, indeed, make a wonderfully valid point. Some people -- including an ADD person I know -- cannot exist in silence. They must be surrounded by noise, which crazes people like me, who value silence and the ability to think more clearly because of it. I bow to you, Donovan, for speaking from experience what the noise really is doing to all of us -- stealing away the silence of clear thought. Bravo!
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