Soundproof

My ears are on my mind a lot, recently. Probably due to the unfortunate fact that I've abused them quite a bit this week - Muse's concert & Calvin Harris at Zouk last night. Now they are protesting by being a little blocked & it feels strange. I hope they'll recover soon. I never want to take listening to sounds for granted. On the same note, I came across this lovely video clip on Jason Mraz's blog ---> See Video Here <--- about listening to sounds. It's an inspirational message, reminding us that our world is a never-ending soundscape and thus we should listen to our environment to enjoy all the original sounds around us, despite that fact that in this day and age, it's more about noise-overkill. In contrast, the sense of sight has been the champion of the 5 senses for ages and the average person is probably visual-centric. We have an unquenchable thirst to lap up a constant barrage of images like a starved tiger attacking its meat. Sound has been severely under-rated, don't you think?

Listening to his narrative about the sounds, I am reminded of the same sensations when I laid in the dark at J's place last summer. He stays in the beautiful countryside and we slept with the windows open. It's very, very quiet at night, but sometimes while I'm snug under the sheets just before I doze off, I can't help but notice the myriad of sounds around me. J's deep breathing, the gentle sweep of the summer wind, the rustling of fallen leaves, the evening crickets, the distant "chug-ge chug-ge" sounds from the passing train and the occasional rumble of a passing vehicle. These sounds interwove to form the soundtrack of my dreams. When I wake up in the morning, I hear the creakings around the wooden floorboards in the house, clinking of bowls & dishes in the kitchen, J's mom knocking on his door to get him up for work, J's unwilling grunts of acknowledgment, subsequent sounds of him getting dressed in his crisp business shirt, all made against the background of chirpy birds.

Simple pleasures in life. You just need to listen.