Who Knew Silence Could Be So Loud
Photo from flickr.com
Who knew silence could be so loud – As a person who has forever lived in a modern civilization, I can understand why the Mojave can be seen as a somber place to others. The Mojave Desert can seem like a very unforgiving place with its dry cracked soils, crooked plants, and animals that look expelled from a once Eden-like environment. The summer heat literally pulls the water away from your body, and winters can get so cold it freezes your thoughts. But there is one characteristic about the desert that is both calming and comforting, yet scarily realistic – silence.
I remember one venture when the Real Desert Dogs visited the El Pasos Wilderness near Inyokern, CA. It was mid afternoon with a warm sun and absolutely no presence of wind. We had just returned from a short exploration of a nearby canyon, and I was preparing insect specimens I had recently captured. A butterfly suddenly flew past my ears and I had a surprising realization. I could hear the butterfly’s wings beating.
It was amazing. It was stupefying. It was even a little bit scary. Living in the city, it never once crossed my mind what a butterfly’s wing beats sound like. Even if I tried to listen to them at home, noise pollution from cars, trains and people wouldn’t allow it. The feeling was exclusive, as if I was the only person who has ever heard a butterfly in flight with the naked ear. The sheer silence of the desert frees such suppressed sounds; allowing one to hear things that most people never, and probably won’t ever, hear. Some people use the expression “so quiet, you can hear a pin drop.” In the desert, however, a pin drop can seem just as loud as a cowbell.
The silence doesn’t always bring feelings of ease because you have the ability to hear sounds you wouldn’t normally hear. Although there are many cases of people residing in urban areas struggling to preserve the little piece of peace and quiet, in reality, the absence of sound can seem just as loud as a busy coffee shop. I remember sitting atop an igneous rock outcropping, having a cigarette and admiring the view, when the silence overtook me. The only noise I could hear was the sound of my heart beating and blood flowing through my head. It was a lonely feeling, one where the only entity you can have a conversation with is yourself. It was a short cigarette break.
Once you realize it, hearing nothing is the same as hearing everything. In the desert, the absence of noise can be so overwhelming that you can hear things that you didn’t even know made sound. Silence suddenly becomes an interesting oxymoron. The desert is where silence is un-silenced.
