Outside Perception
Amin n'rangwa edanea
What ever happened to Quiet?
How many of us can remember the weight of quiet. The blanket of nothing that could be cast over a room. Kids, my kids at lest don’t have any sense of what quiet can actually be. They think a lack of spoken word, of voice is quiet. The absence of song, note and instrument constitutes quiet. Quiet has not ever truly existed but in today’s world of screens and networking, quiet has died… dare I say quietly.
Right now this is what I can hear sitting in my office where it is supposed to be quiet so I can work. I can hear the fans on my PC spinning two different pitches one faster than the other. I can hear the quiet vibration of my phone as it gets notifications. I can hear the hum of the water heater, the buzz of someones alarm. There is a fan in the router or a modem, not sure, and another pc fan just kicked over. Alexa just beeped at me a package has likely arrived. Hums, vibrations, bzzzzz whistles sounds all of them from technology.
When I was a kid… you heard a car, by my house a plane… kids yelling. Parents calling, or whistling. I could hear my grandfather’s whistle from a long, long ways off. When you wanted to stop and think.. its was quiet, no fans, humming clocks… ticking sure but no humming. The ambient sound is everywhere now, but happened oh so gradually. If we lose power now the lack of sound is oppressive in it’s weight. People love those weighted blankets.. well just flip the breaker to your house.
If you go into an old, church outside of services and sit… you can feel the sound of silence, physically maybe even spiritually feel the weight of it. My point is… unplug… really do it, those plugs with the blocks on them, they hum. Seriously turn it all off and power down. Grab a book.. then when it gets dark sit outside and look into the night. No movie tonight folks, no power remember.
Spread the Word!!!
11 Comments on “What ever happened to Quiet?”
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Outside Perception 
Amazing the sound of silence. When I was walking the dog this morning the planes were going overhead at about every minute. I remember the eerie silence right after 911 when the skies were shut down.
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Seriously technology has created the noise and buzz in more than needed amounts. Everyone craves for peace and quite and in their own palms and bags they have devices which destroy the same! I think people have chosen to find peace in their devices and gadgets 😮
Dropping by from a to z “The Pensive”
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So true! Hearing the sound of silence is what we need to do.. Good going on the AtoZ!
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Those were the days when silence spoke… now all you hear is noise. Great post.
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Quiet what a great word. Your right about technology etc. Your not an empty nester yet. Us being in our late 70’s , Quiet has a different meaning. Sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s bad. But we do have more choices than you do for Quiet times. I love visiting family who have a lot going on and can be noisy. I also love going home to Quiet time. It also can be depressing at times when family lives so far apart. I love reading and a cup of coffee in the am Quiet. Then I need something to do. Age changes Quiet. Continue to enjoy your family while you can and seek the night sky for the peace and comfort of Quiet.
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There’s never quiet in my house. Of course it’s the TV during the day, but even laying in bed at night, I can hear the quiet tick tock of our cuckoo clock pendulums as they swing back and forth. We turn off the cuckoo for nighttime, but often I’ll hear the one in the basement and can tell the time by listening to the cuckoo… cuckoo
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I miss my cuckoo clock. Was one of my favorite things
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We regularly have such quiet when loadshedding happens (pre-planned power outs in my country). And though the quiet is great, not having electricity for chunks of the day isn’t.
Ronel visiting for the A-Z Challenge My Languishing TBR: Q
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really? that’s a thing.. I’m going to go read about that now I am intrigued, I knew nothing about this.
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Totally. And we have (mostly) stopped complaining as it becomes the new normal. (Which is just sad.)
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Back when the world shut down in March of 2020, I would go for a walk in our neighborhood and it was the quietest it has ever been for those first two weeks (outside). I heard very little car or truck noises from nearby roadways. It was actually eerie. As I sit here typing, I can hear the fan in my oven, plus my own keystrokes, along with the neighbor’s dog barking. You are right. We rarely experience quiet anymore.
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