The Birds & The Bees

Have you ever stopped to listen? To really listen? Just closed your eyes and tuned your ears in to the sounds around you? The environment you’re in will dictate what you hear but did you ever ask yourself how this affects you in your day to day living?

I watched a Ted talk by Julian Treasure recently about sound health (link to Julian Treasure: Shh! Sound health in 8 steps | TED Talk) and the importance of listening to natural sounds such as wind, water, and birds, and I started pondering on this right this very morning. It’s the middle of summer, it’s 8am and I’m on a little solitary break away in Kinmel Bay, the sun is glorious and I’m sat typing in a garden surrounded by flowers, and trees, and the sound of the birds and the bees. 

I was up early and took the dog to the beach when there was nobody around, and together we listened to the sound of the waves hitting the beach and little all else. The contrast is stark between here and where I’ve come from, there’s no traffic, there’s no petrol mowers, there’s no house alarms, it’s just me, the dog, and the sea air. My surroundings are still and there is little breeze in the leaves of the surrounding plants and trees.

The impact, I realise, is enormous. I feel completely at ease. I wanted to get up early, I wanted to go for a walk, I wanted to eat a nice healthy breakfast with my morning coffee. Very different to the person I usually drag out of bed in the morning that doesn’t get the time for a brew, let alone breakfast.

I’ve found myself taking long deep breaths in, absorbing the peace and calmness around me. I feel completely relaxed, despite the fact I’m still working. I keep closing my eyes and taking it all in.

It’s like another world and I’m feeling very chilled. Even the dog keeps sighing big, contented sighs.

I feel human. I feel connected. I feel like I need to begin house hunting right now for a place of my own away from the busyness of life. I need more of this.

I realise that I try to find this connection in my ‘normal’ world, in my imagination, in books, using meditation apps, doing guided visualisation, and they do work, if only for the time I commit to them. Here I’m surrounded by it. It’s real. I don’t want it to end.

I encourage clients to practice mindfulness, to do relaxing activities, yoga, pilates, walking in the park but I’ve never recommended a trip to the beach or a stroll in the countryside, away from the noise and the ordinariness of life, it’s something I will do from today as, although a walk in the park can help you tune in to the natural sounds around you, there’s something about taking yourself away from your usual surroundings that helps you detach further. The sounds seem different. I’ve even laughed at the gulls that like to break the silence with their incessant shrieking! I imagine the conversations they’re having. I liken them to children at play, they’ve no time or need for peace. And they come and go. It’s useful to have the contrast, it brings me straight back to the peace and quiet that’s left behind as they fly off into the distance.

The buzzing of the bees is enjoyable. Although they bring to mind those pesky flies that seem to enjoy being a nuisance and fly right past your ear when you’re trying to concentrate or sleep, I’m experiencing the sound differently. I believe this is because I’m curious about that little busy fuzzy being and what their morning consists of. They flit from flower to flower, their wings creating the sound of a little engine keeping them airborne, seeking nectar, collecting pollen, and going on their merry way, again leaving quietude in their wake. I wonder if I’ll listen to the flies differently when I return home? Maybe they’re not trying to be annoying at all, maybe they’re sending us little reminders that we need to take a break and listen?

I hear such a variety of birds. My Dad always tried to teach me the different bird sounds when I was growing up and I never could distinguish between them, I had no problem differentiating between the appearance of sparrows and starlings, blackbirds and crows, and doves and pigeons as I’m a very visual person but their birdsongs and their calls weren’t important to me. As I sit here today, I truly hear them, those that are calling to others, those that appear to be singing to themselves, their distinct sounds that differentiate between the wide variety of species in the trees around me and those a little further away. I feel like I’ve tapped into a whole other way of connecting with the world and the creatures that surround me. Who knew that the privilege of hearing could be so wholesome? Well, my Dad evidently did. He’s had the pleasure of this for a long time and I’m a little frustrated with myself that it’s taken me so long. Maybe I’ll ask him to re-schedule the lessons….

I have to wonder how long this feeling and this memory will last when I head back home. When I hit the motorway and the greenery fades and the traffic slows but my hometown draws nearer anyway, I feel it’s inevitable that this will become a distant feeling very quickly. Right here, right now, in the midst of the birds and the bees, I must make a promise to myself to find these moments as often as I possibly can, to take myself off to quieter places on a regular basis, to tune in to the natural sounds around me, even when I’m surrounded by artificial noise – now that’s a challenge. I wonder if it’s possible, to tune out the mechanical, noisy, buzzing of electronics and artificial music and tune in to the natural, ear-pleasing buzzing of the bees and free-flowing music of the birds? Even if it only brings me a second of this contentedness, it’ll be worth it.