In Search of Silence.

While listening to the radio recently, I was intrigued by a story about a project called One Square Inch of Silence. I won't go into the details of the story here. You can read about it on the link above. Basically it was about finding and preserving silence in national parks.

A Soft Light - ©Theresa Grillo Laird - oil on linen covered panel - 14x18
see it here

Finding silence. It can have so many meanings from the inner silence of meditation to the freedom from the everyday noise that's so hard to escape. When was the last time you entered a shop or cafe or a public space that didn't have some sort of sound track running? Quiet is so uncommon that the silence seems deafening when you enter such a space with the sound turned off. You could say we're  addicted to noise.

One of the joys of painting outdoors is the relief from manufactured sound. Painting in my coastal area with just the sounds of the breeze or surf or birds calling or even the sounds of land animals moving discreetly across the sand, makes focus sharp and is intensely relaxing. Try it! The next time you're at the beach, turn off the music and listen! Hike across the land rather than navigating it in some noisy vehicle or flying fanny fan. Listen for the silence.You just might find a whole new world opening up to you.