"N" Is For Noise

Would you like a frosty glass of iced tea while we chat a bit?  As I get it for you, think of the sounds you hear in the process: the glass clinking against another glass as I take it from the cupboard, the sound of ice plinking from the fridge dispenser into the glass, the sound of the fridge door opening and the tea being poured over the ice.  The sound the glass makes as I set the tea before you. 

A world without sound would be very strange.  So some sound is good, like the sound of a gurgling waterfall, the chirping of the birds, a music box, a happy tune on the radio or listening device, happy laughter, etc.  What’s the difference between sound and noise?

Noise is unpleasant sound that causes irritation, such as fingernails on a blackboard, a baby crying, people screaming, fighting and yelling, heavy traffic and honking horns in a crowded city… Anyone besides me remember sitting at a traffic light, having to endure the loud thump, thump, thump of car speakers blaring rap “music?”  Thumps so loud their car windows rattled and you felt the vibrations in your car?   

Even if sounds are not unpleasant, a day filled with constant sound such as having the radio or TV on can be wearying to my mind and body.  Talking heads and guests that talk over one another and argue loudly on TV news shows get on my nerves too.  I need times of quiet for good physical, mental, and spiritual health.  How about you?

Noise pollution is a modern plague.  If you’re a person with chronic fatigue, high blood pressure, depression or insomnia, you may want to check the levels of noise in your life.  If you have a hard time concentrating at work or feel tense, it may also be because of too much noise.

I need the luxury of a quiet hour or two for reading a good book.  Did you ever try to read a book while the TV or radio was blaring, people were talking, or you kept getting interrupted by questions or demands from others? 

Students need quiet to study and do homework.  (Sometimes I wonder how the Walton family members managed to have smart kids.  I remember watching episodes of the show where John Boy complained because he was interrupted so many times as he tried to study or write in his journal or read a book.  Others in the family complained, too, when they wanted peace and quiet.)

I’ve heard of moms who lock themselves in the bathroom to get some “alone time.”  Parenting young children brings a barrage of noise as little ones chatter, cry or wail, ask continual questions, fight among one another, throw a fit or tug at your legs.  If you are a mother or dad and you find yourself struggling with the noise level in your home, perhaps you can call a friend to stay with the kids one afternoon as you go out by yourself somewhere.  You need it.  Don’t wait until you explode in anger and do something to your children you’ll regret.  I think excessive noise level in the home is a contributing factor to child abuse.

Playing soothing music in the home will help calm your children, and will help your nerves, too.  Don’t let the TV be their “baby-sitter.” 

If you're a friend of a parent with young children, be sensitive to their needs and offer to babysit for part of a day.  They'll thank you for  it. 

I think too of ‘internal noise”— those thoughts that demand we give attention to this or that, or we revisit a conversation we’ve had with someone and it goes round and round in our mind.  The mental noise can be wearying unless we turn it off.  How do we do that? 

I find peace and quiet and mental relaxation as I pray to my heavenly Father and throw all my cares and worries on Him.  I bless the people in my mental conversation and declare aloud that God is working in their situation.  It brings such blessed peace.

Read about two sisters, Mary and Martha, in Luke 10:38-42, where Martha was scurrying about fixing a meal for Jesus, and complained to Jesus that Mary wasn't helping her. Jesus answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."

And in Mark 6:31-32 we read, "Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things both what they had done and what they had taught. And He said to them, 'Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.' For there were so many coming and going, and they did not even heave time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves."

The human soul craves peace and quiet.  We were not created to be stressed out and over-worked.  We’d all do ourselves a favor if we turned off the TV several nights a week, and instead, sat outside on our porch or back deck to enjoy the sunset and nature and sip a glass of iced tea. 

Or go to a resort for the weekend. Dave and I enjoy going to Cacapon State Park near Berkley Springs, West Virginia, and just sit in the woods.  Squirrels and chipmunks scamper about and birds do their thing; warm sunlight filters in lacy patterns through the leaves of the trees as gentle breezes make them dance. There’s something about being in nature that is so therapeutic.  It’s relaxing – therefore it’s healing to the body and mind.

Now, isn’t that better than hearing the loud honking of horns, the “thump, thump” of loud rap music, and people arguing and yelling?  You bet it is.

God bless you, dear reader.

Copyright © 2013 Elaine Beachy