It’s amazing how a cosmic force seems to have aligned my path this week. I stumbled upon a podcast about walking and silence, just as I finished listening to the audiobook, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats. Then, I found a book at the library focusing on the art of silence: Silence in the Age of Noise. These things felt so serendipitous, as if the universe wanted me to explore these concepts deeper. I truly need these ideas in my life right now. The thoughts I want to share may be haphazardly written, as I know I can’t do them justice in this brief blog. Each of these three texts could easily inspire separate posts filled with interesting ideas!
We hear many stories of philosophers, writers, inventors, and thinkers who have found solace in silence. They would go for long walks with nothing but the sound of nature to accompany them or sit and think alone in their studies.
C. S. Lewis said, “Walking and talking are two very great pleasures, but it is a mistake to combine them.”
And Cicero purportedly said that “silence is one of the great arts of conversation.” Even in theatre, pauses can often be the most powerful part of a soliloquy.
I have been more mindful of not being on my phone as much. When I first started running, I was usually by myself, and I never listened to music. We lived in Idaho right along the Snake River. Those were beautiful, contemplative times. Oftentimes, I would take my dogs. Those runs taught me to appreciate the sounds of nature. Later, I had friends to run with, and we solved all the world’s problems by talking.
In 2020, I found myself running alone in the early hours before dawn. The experience was somewhat eerie but mostly filled me with gratitude and wonder. As I ran, I would often spot familiar faces among other early risers—walking or jogging with their headlamps and flashlights. The stillness, the quiet, the silence of those moments was surreal; rather than feeling scared, I felt a unique sense of connection and a kind of specialness in the solitude.
The funny thing is that music helps me be creative while running. At least, I think it does. Lyrics help me with ideas for poetry. Silence is something we must consciously seek out, and some researchers contend that people today have acquired a learned fear of silence stemming from the constant background noise of the radio or TV from childhood.
In Silence in the Age of Noise, author Erling Kagge mentions a conversation he had with Norwegian author and playwright Jon Fosse.
“To speak is precisely what the silence should do. It should speak, and you should talk with it, in order to harness the potential that is present.”
“Perhaps it’s because silence goes together with wonder, but it also has a kind of majesty to it, yes, like an ocean, or like an endless snowy expanse,” he said. “And whoever does not stand in wonder at this majesty fears it. And that is most likely why many are afraid of silence (and why there is music everywhere, everywhere).” (He does say everywhere twice, the second with italics.)
Kagge adds, “I recognize the fear that Fosse describes. A vague angst about something I can’t put my finger on. Something which causes me all too easily to avoid being present in my own life…I send text messages, put on some music, listen to the radio or allow my thoughts to flit about, rather than holding still and shutting out the world for a single moment.”
Kagge is the first person to have completed the Three Poles Challenge on foot–the North Pole, the South Pole, and the summit of Mount Everest.
He tries to answer these three questions in his book. What is silence? Where is it? Why is it more important now than ever?
The podcast I listened to was from one of my favorites, The Rich Roll Podcast. His guest was Craig Mod, an artist, author, and photographer who has lived in Japan for 25 years and has traversed thousands of miles through the country’s vanishing rural landscapes. His latest book, Things Become Other Things, chronicles a 300-mile solo journey that reveals how movement can transform trauma into grace, attention into art, and displacement into a sense of belonging. He walks without a phone or music.
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, a trilogy, by Jan-Phillip Sendker tells the story of Tin Win, a Burmese man who loses his sight but gains the ability to “hear” the heartbeats of others. A quote from the book:
“The true essence of things is invisible to the eyes…Our sensory organs love to lead us astray, and eyes are the most deceptive of all. We rely too heavily on them. We believe that we see the world around us, and yet it is only the surface that we perceive. We must learn to divine the true nature of things, their substance, and the eyes are rather a hindrance than a help in that regard. They distract us. We love to be dazzled. A person who relies too heavily on his eyes neglects his other senses–and I mean more than his hearing or sense of smell. I’m talking about the organ within us for which we have no name. Let us call it the compass of the heart.”
Overcoming the Fear of Silence
When we are not consumed by noise, such as lying in bed and trying to sleep, our minds start to wander, and we often think about ourselves. It can be a great time for self-reflection or gratitude.
Noise pollution has been gaining more attention. I don’t think that the majority of society thinks about noise pollution, but it can cause health problems for people and wildlife. Loud noises can elevate blood pressure and noise from ships and human activities in the ocean can be harmful to whales and dolphins.
National Geographic states: “Many children who live near noisy airports or streets have been found to suffer from stress and other problems, such as impairments in memory, attention level, and reading skill.”
On a silent night, the starry sky can be incredibly peaceful and quiet, especially if you are not too scared to be by yourself in a safe place of course. It’s a time when the world seems to pause, allowing for reflection and a sense of calm that can be hard to find during the hustle and bustle of the day.
The sunrise can be just as peaceful. There’s something incredibly soothing about watching the first light of day break over the horizon. The gentle colors of the sky and the calmness of the morning create a perfect moment for silence.
We live in the age of noise, and silence is almost extinct. Oftentimes, truth can be found in silence. Silence is an experience that can be had for free. The chances of investing in silence can be small. If we know we have ten minutes to spare before we have to go somewhere, we usually turn to our phones to distract us. I have so many more thoughts from these three texts that I happened to digest in the last week. How can we overcome learned fear of silence in a noise-dominated world?