A Noisy World

It is quite evident that we are living in one terribly noisy world and it seems to be getting worse every day. Everywhere we go we are accosted by loud, unwanted sound. When we enter elevators, malls and restaurants we are engulfed by muzak. I recently had lunch at apple bees restaurant with a friend and found the background music so loud that it interfered with normal conversation and the enjoyment of my lunch. When I asked the waitress if she could turn the music off, or at least down, she said, "I don't think we can." Surely we as a people are still in charge of volume controls.

When you add lawnmowers, leaf blowers, jack hammers, jet engines, transport trucks, and horns and buzzers of all types and descriptions, you have a wall of constant noise and irritation. Even when watching a television program at a reasonable volume level you are blown out of your chair when a commercial comes on at the decibel level of a jet.

We seem to have created a cultural acceptance of our noisy world in spite of the fact that it is making us ill physically and psychologically. We can't seem to live without background sound. We have friends who turn on the television the moment they awaken in the morning and leave it on all day. The house is just too quiet if it isn't on. Most of my friends tell me that the first thing they do on arriving home after work it to turn on their television or music player as loudly as would be tolerated by sane humans around.

While we have very little control over noise in the environment at large, we do have control over our own private environment. So i decided to do a little research on ways to cultivate a friendship with silence since I was about to go nuts. I came across an article online about developing friendship with silence and these are some of the few ways the article suggested

* Make a conscious commitment to the experience and appreciation of silence.
* Go for a walk in nature. Let the silence soothe your spirit.
* When you are alone in your residence turn off all noise making appliances. Begin with fifteen minutes of silence and gradually increase the duration.
* Learn how to meditate and schedule a ten minute meditation period once or twice a day. Gradually extend your meditation time.
* When driving to work turn off your car radio and drive in silence
I still struggle with the fifth one because I find it very weird and strange driving without any sound. I don't know anyone that drives without listening to music, news or talking on the cell phone. Hopefully I get to enjoy and cherish periods of silence which I am hoping with help reduce my stress midst our ***** noisy world..........