Silence

I have been told on many occasions that I was born old. Someone even once said I was born 40 which would make me 74 years old and closing in on 75. I don't mind having an old soul and I was lucky enough to marry another old soul, so life is good.

I have, however, often wondered if I was born in the right century. The modern world, with its never ending hustle and bustle, doesn't feel right to me most days. There is just so much noise, have you noticed? Everywhere you go it seems places are piping in sound to keep us feeling a certain way. Most days it just makes me want to escape. For several years in my youth I really wanted to grow up to be a hermit, on a private island, off the coast of British Columbia in Canada, reachable only by seaplane.

I love silence. Even when performing, my favorite moment is the silence right before the applause. I relish moments of silence that show your comfort with yourself and those around you. To be able to sit in silence either for reflection or with another person without anxiety or concern is beautiful.

So I leave this post with a couple pictures from my recent visit home to Washington - a place of silence and beauty, and sadly of noise as well.

Twilight looking across Elliot Bay to the Olympic Mountains

Mt. Rainer seen through the Port of Seattle