Quiet
Where is the quietest place you have ever been? The kind of
quiet where the tinnitus in your ears start to scream and you feel REALLY
uncomfortable because of the constant stimulation that has been part of everyday life.
I need to set up my story: When we eat a
sno-cone, we get an intense flavor that is awesome, and we can get that flavor
on demand at any given time, whenever we want it. Some countries have indoor
water parks that have the “perfect weather” all the time, on demand, without a
doubt.
Contrast this to strawberry’s and blueberries: When you get
a carton of strawberries or blueberries they are most likely all ok and taste
like the “should”, but there is always that one, in the entire carton, that is
sweeter and has a better texture to the rest.
This same theory can be applied to weather: out of the
entire month of February there might be a handful of good days but there will
be at least one that is 100% PERFECT. No clouds in the sky, virtually no humidity,
bright sun. Basically, it is the one
“strawberry in the carton” that is sweeter than the rest, and cannot be
duplicated on demand at any time like a sno-kone or the indoor waterpark.
The day we visited Crater Lake we had a “sweet strawberry”
day: NO clouds, NO wind, NO humidity.
Now, if you were in the 904 during a day like this it would be nice and
it would be easy to make a day of it, but at Crater Lake I experienced one of
the most amazing things I have ever witnessed to date- something that I have
not experienced anywhere else in my life: complete silence.
Maybe it was the juxtaposition of the stillness despite
being in an exposed place that could easily be effected by harsh elements (over
8,000’ above sea level) that struck me as amazing.
We sat that afternoon for hours and just stared. Never have
I been so content at doing nothing, and never will I forget or take for granted
that day that we found the equivalent to the entire carton of perfect strawberries.
I think it’s important we seek out places we can go to
experience this quiet, even if it’s on a smaller scale. From my residence I can
hear the hum of the interstate, the neighbors arguing, the next text message
coming through, an email update from a spammer, Ace snoring….you get the point.
So I say all of this to make the point that to get back to
normal and to experience peace we have to experience quiet on a regular basis….and
that takes effort.
-BSY
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