Our sense of sound is one of the first to develop before we are born and the last to leave us when we die. The way in which we interpret sound is fundamental to our understanding of the world around us and our feelings of safety within it, and we quickly learn to discern the difference between sounds of chaos and sounds of harmony.
As the saying goes, one persons trash is another ones treasure, and the same can be true for sound frequencies. I can recall a time growing up when we lived next door to a man who had a beautiful blossom tree in his garden. It was visible to us and my mother would enjoy the morning chorus of song that the birds would gift us whilst visiting the trees welcoming branches. One day we returned home from school to find the tree had been felled. I remember my mother asking the neighbour what had happened to our leafy friend and he nonchalantly responded by saying he had chopped down the tree because the sound of birds in the morning was infuriating! Imagine that....it just goes to show that we are all wired differently when it comes to our sensory pleasures and nightmares.
I have always enjoyed the sounds of nature, particularly the ocean. It is one of the only sounds that I can fall asleep to swiftly and I attribute this to my childhood trips away to Margate. My brother and I would go every Summer with our Youth Club, and for the first few days of our fortnight away, I would feel terribly homesick despite all the fun we would have during the day. I would leave my dormitory bed at night time to walk down to the stoney beach under cover of darkness and cry my little heart out; gazing at the moon, feeling lonely and sad. But the more I would sit there, the more I began to notice the gentle sound of the ocean water ebbing and flowing, to and from the pebbly shore, like a reassuring friend. It was a constant and ethereal reminder that I was not alone and it seemed as though the very ocean was whispering "hush...don't you cry... I am with you Tafrina". I have felt intuitively linked with the ocean ever since, and whenever I am close to her I share my secrets and triumphs, my joys and sorrows, my hearts longing and fears, whilst all the while she listens and invites me to cry, to howl, to dance and to sing.
So how are you wired? What sound soothes you in times of sadness, distress or anger? What sound brings you a sense of peace or clarity? What do you listen to to feel energised and invigorated and why? Perhaps it is simply the sound of silence....
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