A silence

When I was small, there were a number of tapes that my dad used to play in the car, one of which was a Simon And Garfunkel album (possibly a compilation). I remember that one of the songs on that record was 'The Sound Of Silence'. (There is, of course, an irony in writing a song about silence, one that was capably addressed by John Cage in his piece '4 33'.)

But what is it about silence? I suspect life has always been pretty noisy for everyone apart from a privileged few. And what would be special about a vow of silence if that was mankind's normal behaviour? It's why I think we're struck - and sometimes disconcerted - by those moments when we find ourselves alone in complete quiet. Perhaps it's a feeling, a worry, in fact, that we're away from our pack. Maybe noise is a reassurance to us.

I think smartphones and the web have made it even harder to find quiet. We are, quite willingly, distracted by email and texts and FaceBook and Twitter and Instagram - God, I love Instagram* - and, for the young amongst us, Snapchat. It's almost as though we're filling that last quiet space in our own minds. Our minds thrive on that activity.

It occurred to me recently that I get a different kind of silence when I'm running or swimming. It's not a genuine quiet; one's ears are full of noise when swimming and even when I'm running down deserted lanes, I can hear my feet striking the road and the rhythm of my breathing. The silence is manifest in the fact that I am completely alone with my thoughts, with no external distractions available to me. 

Sometimes when I think about things I did in my youth, I'll think "but where was Charlie? Who was looking after Hannah?" and then I remember they weren't born at that time. In the same way, I'm beginning to have those same thoughts about Twitter and all the other apps on my phone. So much has changed in ten years: so much that is unresearched and unknown. I wonder what we're doing to our minds, our spirits (if you will). I wonder if we need to be more active in seeking silence.

*Much as I hate their new timeline algorithm.