Today was one of those days where Spring flirts with you. She uses the blue skies and warmer temperatures to lure you outside and enjoy the idea of a new season. It was also an day for escaping the afternoon office grind by walking to the local coffee shop to enjoy a beverage and a book for the lunch time break.
As I sat outside reading the pages of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver, the sun warmed my back and sounds of the streetscape and sidewalk life got me thinking about all the sounds that we drown out during the day and the sounds that are no longer common in our communities.
Take for instance the sound of bells, the resonant, crisp, clear ring or dong of a bell is rarely if ever heard in our community. Granted this is a community with two clock towers, one at the county courthouse and one at the university, but their bells are silent, excluding the automated chiming of the time. The sound I refer to is the ringing of bells for events like weddings or other special occasions. Think Quasimodo in the tower ring the actual domed structure of a bell ringing. Even the sound of wind chimes is absent.
For all the noise that we encounter on a daily basis, the communal sounds of people in the streets, bells, dogs, vendors, etc, we live in a pretty quite environment. I suppose today was one of those days that permitted a pause in the day to day routine of work that allowed me to think and be outside. Take note of the sounds you hear and don't hear and see what you find and what is missing.
