Of Mornings, Music and Silence.

I like my mornings quiet.

I like waking up slowly, trying to catch fast fading dreams before reality dawns. Alarm clocks are a necessity, but I'd be happier waking without them. Telling my pillow what time to wake me up usually works (but that could also be because I'm then too keyed up to really sleep peacefully!). Getting up with a start is bad for the body and the mind - someday you could have a heart attack being startled suddenly like that!

My mornings have a stillness about them that wakes me up gradually. Staying on the sixth floor in a quiet locality helps. No birds in the distance, no raucous crows, no doorbell (the last newspaper boy who insisted on ringing the doorbell didn't last the weekend). There's only the sound of distant rain, a very faint rumbling of buses on the road and clouds moving quietly above my window...What a lovely way to start the day!

I know of someone who tried an innovative technique once.He was tired of falling asleep and waking up to the sounds of traffic each morning. So he bought a music system that could be set to play at a pre-set time. Just before bed-time, he played some soothing music, the kind that puts you to sleep easily. The family drifted off to sleep with the sounds of nature, gentle waves lapping in the distance...They woke in the morning with similarly appropriate music instead of shrill alarm clocks. It did make a difference to them as in they were far less rushed each morning, they woke up refreshed having slept peacefully and the grumpiness in the family reduced considerably.

This method does not work with rock music or anything similar.

We need more silence in our lives. More quiet, lower decibels. When was the last time you sat through ten minutes of complete silence? For most of us, it's an event that's scary. Silence scares us - we need to fill up our lives with the sounds of the telly, radio, music system and gossip in the background. My mother falls asleep easily when the TV is on; the moment you switch it off, she wakes - the steady drone in the background acts as a sedative.

Many people also confuse silence with solitude. That is why they are afraid of silence: they are afraid of loneliness. But that's not the way it is.

Max Ehrmann says in the Desiderata "Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence"

From Rumi :

A Great Silence overcomes me,
and I wonder why I ever thought
to use language.

A final word by Anonymous (I'd like to meet him/her someday.)
"For people who like peace and quiet: a phoneless cord"

=================================
Must-see-site-of-the-week

http://www.oxymoronlist.com