Last week, I stopped listening to music in the car. Then I cut it out when I was studying. Eventually, I stopped listening altogether.
Not because I’m insane, but because I wanted to run a little experiment. I wondered how my mind would fill the silence. Could I sit without a soundtrack to my life? Could I stand the stillness? I’ve always used music as background as something to keep my thoughts company, to fill the time in between main acts.
Sitting alone in a mental room with nothing but my own thoughts, a new kind of music emerged. The birds outside my window sang louder than I ever remembered, chirping their little hearts out. I felt the hum of the motor each morning, the whoosh of air as I accelerated down empty roads. Walking, I heard the rustling of trees above and the crunch of my feet on leaves.
It’s strange to realize that there are so many little things that we fail to notice simply because we’ve become so accustomed to them. But by leaving my Airpods at home and turning off the radio, I found joy in noticing.
Now, I still enjoy listening to music. I still sing like a maniac alone in my car. But it’s comforting to know that these small sounds are always waiting for me to appreciate. Waiting for attention. Waiting for you to open your ears and let the music flow in.
It was always there.
I just wasn’t listening.
Mason Lai 