The Camping Crafter: the sound of silence

I always wondered why Neil Diamond found the city noise beautiful. To me, the noise of the hustle and bustle in a city, is everything but beautiful. To be honest, I hate it. Yet, for most of my life, I avoided silence; I was always listening to music or an audio book.

In 2017/2018 I finally confronted a whole lot of baggage I was dragging along with me my entire life. And suddenly, once I found peace within myself, silence became beautiful. And silence in nature, became my favourite. Far away from cars, hooters, radios, televisions, and people.

When I venture out of the city into nature, silence has a sound. I hear the leaves dancing in the breeze. I hear the long grass swaying as if they have music that I am not aware of. I hear birds chirping. And when nighttime draws near, crickets and frogs create a choir performance that money cannot buy.

In the sounds of nature, the sound of silence, I love to sit and craft. I can switch my brain off from the rat race. I can take stock of my mental health. I ask myself questions while I am knitting or crocheting.

Am I happy? If not, why not?
Am I upset with somebody? Why? What am I going to do about it?
Do I owe somebody an apology? If yes, what am I going to do about it?

After an hour or so, the peace envelops me. It’s a peace that I find hard to explain. I can just be. I can enjoy the moment completely, without anything else distracting me.

This is where I am right now. In the South African Bushveld. Far away from the city. Far away from noise. And the sound of silence, is breathtakingly beautiful. The Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills, featured here in the photos, visit me every now and then. They don’t expect a conversation; they just let me be.

I have some questions for you .