Listening for Now

My friend Reid loves all things audio. He enjoys sound in all its varieties like other people enjoy a great meal or a piece of art. My pal Pearl is a contemplative person, a camrade in the Resistance Against the Assault of The Media. While she is quietly observing the audio map of a neighborhood evening-- cars parking, birds chirping into nests, and humans clanking dinner dishes, he may be listening to a soundtrack of convention hall cacophony--booming announcements, caffeinated chatter and background Muzac. Yet these two seemingly dissimilar listeners share a powerful common thread: attentiveness to sound brings their experience of the present moment to life. And from what the spiritual masters like Thich Nhat Hanh and Eckhart Tolle say, this is a good thing, so I'm trying to pay attention.

I'm beginning to see (or rather hear) the beauty in tuning in to the sonic snapshots of what's going on around me. Recently I was at the 2-minute car wash, hardly the most meditative of environments. It was a hectic day, and I was feeling rushed and disheveled. Suddenly the clanking of the chain moving the conveyor belt caught my attention. I began to listen --and was pulled into the car wash world around me with a laser-like intensity: the cough of the attendant, the swoosh of water and brushes, keys jangling impatiently while we waited for our vehicles to emerge shiny and clean.

Somehow that quick tune-in lowered my blood pressure, calmed my brain and brought me back to center. Focusing on the sounds around me helped offset the disarray of mind and spirit that, ironically, often feels exacerbated by the relentless stimulus of contemporary urban life. Maybe that's why the NPR Soundclips series is so popular. From clips of antique engines to defective ceiling fans and noisy dryers, the bizarre and mundane are transformed into an audio canvas of storytelling and life.

Could be worth a try. What are you listening to today? Are you here, now? Listen in.