A personal challenge - try and write something every day for January 2025
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I have a busy brain. It chats happily to itself and to me, organising, discussing, replaying, planning, making lists and anything else that it fancies to annoy me with. For a few years now, I have been gently practising the art of silencing the incessant chatter.
Some days it works and others - not so much. I have learnt and regularly practise ... to just listen. Listening to the sounds around and not letting my busy brain discuss them. Listening in silence.
The tearing of the wind as it rustles through trees.
The crackle and bursting of air bubbles when a river tumbles over the rocks.
Birds singing for territory, for mates, to impress.
The sound of boots slurping in mud, crunching on frosted snow, clipping on tarred pavements, scrunching on pebbly tracks.
The drag and whush of the retreating tide on a rocky beach.
The crisp sound as a page is turned in a new book.
The clink of a paint brush as you swirl it in water to clean it.
The quiet breathing and sometimes the deep snoring of a fast asleep cat.
That deep chest thudding roar of rain swollen rivers as they crash down a ravine.
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......and just a gentle enquiry - how many of you heard the sound as you read the words?
I wish I could have heard some of those sounds!
ReplyDeleteI did wonder if I 'heard' the sounds in my head because I was writing the words and had been imagining them at the same time :)
DeleteI too have a 'chatty' brain and it often goes off in tangents rather than concentrating on the job in hand.... personally I like 'silence' and am glad I never had to work with music/radio in the background... there is a lot of sounds out there so I prefer to listen! x
ReplyDeletefor some silly reason, blogger has put my reply down below Marie Smith's comments, no idea why??
DeleteWe walk the boardwalk in our city every day, through the trees, along the shoreline of Bedeque Bay. I make a point to stand in silence and listen. Amazing what one hears and becomes aware of that way!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds lovely - I think it makes you appreciate everything more
DeleteI have quite persistent tinnitus so I do use a radio to help mask the worst of it - which is why I have to concentrate for sounds of nature - I have listen above or through the 'squealing train brakes' in my ears!
ReplyDeleteFor those of us with busy brains, nature is both a recourse and a healer. Thank you for returning to blog about your walks and your experiences of the wonderful UK countryside. You have been sorely missed! Have you read Emma Mitchell’s The Wild Remedy? I loved it for many reasons, but particularly for her descriptions of the wonders of nature all around us. You have the same ability to bring that message across. Thank you, Kate!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes, Sylvia, The Netherlands.
Thank you Sylvia ☺️ Although I have not read Emma Mitchells' book, I follow her on IG (@silverpebble2) but think I might just go and check it out - as I love what she writes on her account xk
DeleteI did 'hear' those sounds. And I must say, they made a pleasant change from the usual noise that I have going on up there. Xx
ReplyDeleteoh I am glad ☺️ I must admit to finding those sort of sounds help drown out my busy brain xk
DeleteI've got a monkey mind which jumps from one thing to another. I am trying to notice when it's happening so that I can think about other things and just be more present in the moment. Arilx
ReplyDeleteI agree, keep your mind on track by distracting it with nicer things (like bird song or strange grave stones!) xk
DeleteBloody hell lass you write the loveliest of posts, I am hindered in my listening ever since tinnitus started swamping my right ear with its high pitched monotony. I used to relish the sounds you describe so well yet now I have to find different ways to distract the multitude of thoughts that cascade through my mind
ReplyDeleteThank you John - I've had tinnitus since I was about 13 - ish but it was only as an adult that I discovered what it was. I use sound to help mask it as well as distracting my mind (which I sometime wonder if it is a separate entity as it certainly does its own thing!)
DeleteYes! Magic words
ReplyDelete