The sounds of evening may be muffled as the sky pulls its covers of darkness across the horizon. The hoot of an owl or the rustling of dry stems of grass can be overlooked in a busy schedule as you hurry through chores.
Radio broadcasts can help pep up boring tasks. IPods featuring your favorite music or programs keep your attention.
It may seem more "natural" to be simultaneously e-mailing, internet researching, listening to music on an iPod, having the TV on in the background, texting on a cell phone and working on other projects.
But does technology control me… or do I control technology?
Lately I find myself yearning to hear the natural sounds of the woodlands. But even as I work outside I have to strain to listen for them. All that quiet space between their sounds can be discomforting.
Who knows how many sounds I’m missing because I don't recognize them. Or I have forgotten how.
And they move around... the owl may call from over here. The crackling sound of tree branches rubbing in the night breeze that startles the horses comes from over there.
All is harmonizing with the beat from the distant rumble of traffic from the highway miles away.
Then I wonder what affect electronic radio and TV waves have as they bombard our minds and bodies. These effects wouldn’t have been around for someone living in the 1800's.
What would those folks say and feel if they were visiting us today?
Maybe sometime in the future we will be able to “time travel”. Maybe we’ll take vacations into the past or do it to recuperate from some future “sonic” illness.
I would love to see some of the Old West… meet people in the history books or watch the Lewis & Clark expedition start off.
But I would probably only be comfortable for about 15 minutes! I have gotten used to a lot of present day conveniences.
On the other hand, should we in the 21st century pay more attention to the unique attributes that might only be found on this planet? And may not last for long.
If we don't learn to listen now, will we miss these earth sounds… or miss hearing another human being's heartfelt thoughts?
Will "listening" be a lost "art"?
Will we miss hearing the owl call?
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Whether you are
a hero or not…
How touching to see the interview with Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and hear him recount the landing of Flight 1549. By his expertise in emergency procedures he was able to land his airplane safely on the Hudson River. He had only about three minutes to save the lives of 155 people.
He reminds me of other people I have known who were also calm and decisive when dealing with their life's experiences.
No time for pity or whining or complaining.
I got to wondering how some of the rest of us would react in stressful situations or how we presently handled the emergencies we encountered… no matter how insignificant they may be compared to Flight 1549.
And what if we didn't come out of them as successfully?
Perhaps these others didn't have the training to know what to do… or their hands slid across the controls and unknowingly nudged the wrong lever… or a malfunction in the electronic system proved to be a problem they couldn't fix.
If these folks live, do they go over their reactions again and again to see if they could have done something differently? Even Captain Sully revealed that he did this the first few nights after his flight. But even if anyone could have done it another way, they couldn't change it now.
Thoughts like these do not diminish the heroism of someone like Captain Sully. But what if the result had been different for him too?
There's a term used on the farm that seems appropriate at times like these. Sometimes "stuff" happens. (You know the real word!)
May we have compassion and understanding for those who tried to do the right thing in their circumstances… even though it didn't turn out well.
But we tried too.
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What am I doing?
My actions came under question recently when I realized that my husband and I were whispering to each other - although we were the only two people in the house.
Actually we were just trying to hide from the barn cats who were yowling outside because they wanted to come in from the frigid night air!
We haven’t been this sneaky since the kids were little!
But the barn cats would circle the house until they heard which room our voices were coming from. And then their yowling and scratching on the windows let us know their wishes.
Now I know they can nestle quite warmly in the hay mow in the barn. But of course we feel sorry for them when the temperature drops out of sight so we let them in the house to sleep.
I just hope that any little critters that have attached themselves to their furry bodies also stay with them when they leave in the morning.
But when I realized that we had lowered our voices and were whispering, I started laughing and asked, “Hey, what are we doing?”
"We are in control? Right?"
Well, maybe...
I don’t know anyone who wins an argument with a cat!
Or with a dumpster.
It wasn’t until my husband found his briefcase with “day planner” and checks had been stolen in an apparent robbery of his car that I took part in the joys of “Dumpster Diving”. Now a strange thing happens when I write that word. I keep making an error when spelling it. I spell it as Dumbster Diving! I put the letter “b” in it instead of “p”!
Maybe that's because it's just how I feel doing it. Pretty dumb!
I got the idea from local police officer, Jill Ekstrom. She had tried to help us find our stuff and mentioned that she had checked some of the dumpsters in the area for us. The reason is that people may get rid of some of the stuff they have taken as quickly as they can. When I contacted another apartment complex the next day, John Miller checked on their dumpsters for me too.
So I decided it was a good idea and bundled up in a snowmobile suit and boots that had seen better days doing chores around the farm. But just how good do you have to look for this job?
