Yesterday I heard something I had never heard before. The sound of silence. It was wonderful and made me wonder how come I had to turn 41 before I could actually appreciate it.
The thing is that we went to the beach. Los Cardones it is called, just an hour away from noisy Managua with oversize loudspeakers, honking cars, street vendors and barking dogs. Obviously, the beach is not a silent place. The children tend to express their happiness in a loud manner, combined with the wind blowing in from the Pacific Ocean and the waves coming from the same direction.
But nevertheless, there was silence, basically because there was no music. I believe this in the first restaurant in Nicaragua in which I have experienced a complete lack of artificial background noise. Normally, the gallo pinto or whatever you might be eating, is either accompanied by endless marimba, the honey dipped voice of a romantic Latin lover or salsa so loud it makes your stomach twist and turn. Or even worse – reaggaetón which I hope will some day be forbidden by law because that has absolutely got to be the worst kind of music ever made.
Anyway, yesterday, there was none of that. Just the wind, the waves and the kids. Wow! Just a couple of hours in silence were enough to refill be mentally, even though it took me some time to figure out what was ‘wrong’. Something was different, just couldn’t figure out what.
Don’t get me wrong. I love my iPod and I love music. But I think I might just record a bit of that silence next time I pass by Los Cardones and save it for some day when I need the mental break that I realize only silence can provide.
Posted by Christian Korsgaard
