The July/August issue of Ode Magazine is called "The Silence Issue." The are exploring questions such as "Are we scared of silence? Do we need silence? Where do we find it and how does it affect us?" There's nothing like thinking about silence to make you realize how much you are hearing. Already this morning, even when it has been quiet, it has not been silent. I've noticed the sounds of airplanes in the distance, lawnmowers, my stomach growling, the dryer and dishwasher working and lots of bird song from outside (love you birds).
Here is how Ode describes how we hear:
"The inner ear is a flower bed inside a blacksmith's shop. Down below the auditory canal - past the hammer, the anvil and the stirrup - sprout the hair cells of the cochlea, planted in tiny rows along the basilar membrane like geraniums in a window box. As the hammer and anvil pound sound waves into shape, the stirrup taps out the beat on the basilar membrane, which sets the hair cells swaying like a breeze through a cornfield. Each of the hair cells' undulations fires electrical signals to the brain, where we discern the cause of the commotion - a cymbal crash, for instance, or the soft exhalations of a child's breath. Other senses my rest, but the ear never sleeps. It is insomniac, always alert to the slightest pulses, awake to the faintest tremors."
Once again, I am feeling a deep sense of appreciation. I am grateful that I can hear and for what I hear and how. The irony of intense appreciation for my physical self as a means to connecting to my spiritual self is not lost on me. I don't know how to justify it with words. All I know is that a deep appreciation for what I already have, who I already am and the perfection of it all brings me to a place that feels rich with love and grace and hope, and once I get there, then I can go and be that in the world. And that's what I want.
Thank you ears.
painting by Emma O'Rourke
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