Uluruko ilunabarra (Martin Fisher/Flickr-en argazkia)
«Iritsiko da gizakiak zarataren aurka borrokatu beharko duen eguna, kolera eta izurria bezainbeste». Hala esan zuen Robert Koch bakteriologo Nobel saridunak 1905ean. Mende bat geroago, egun hori askoz hurbilago dago. Gaur egun, isiltasuna desagertzeko arriskuan dagoen espezie bihurtu da. Gure hiriak, gure aldiriak, gure nekazaritza-komunitateak, baita gure parke nazional zabalenak eta urrunenak ere, ez daude gizakiaren zarataren eraginpean libre. Ipar Poloan ere ez dago arintzerik; kontinente batetik bestera doazen hegazkinek horretaz arduratzen dira. Gainera, zarataren aurka borrokatzea ez da isiltasuna mantentzea bezalakoa. Gure zarataren aurkako estrategia tipikoek —belarri-tapoiak, zarata ezeztatzeko entzungailuak, baita zarata murrizteko legeak ere— ez dute benetako irtenbiderik eskaintzen, ez baitute ezer egiten berriro konektatzen eta lurra entzuten laguntzeko. Eta lurrak hitz egiten du.
Gizateriaren historian, gure ingurumen-krisi globalak bizimoduan betiko aldaketak egitea eskatzen digun garai batera iritsi gara. Inoiz baino gehiago, lurrarekin berriro maitemindu behar dugu. Isiltasuna da gure topagunea.
Gure jaiotzetiko eskubidea da ingurune naturala isilik eta lasai entzutea eta nahi ditugun esanahiak hartzea. Gizateriaren zaratak baino askoz lehenago, mundu naturalaren soinuak baino ez zeuden. Gure belarriak ezin hobeto afinatu ziren soinu hauek entzuteko; giza hizkeraren edo gure emanaldi musikal handinahienen irismena gainditzen duten soinuak: eguraldi aldaketa adierazten duen haize-haize pasatzailea, lurraren berdetzea eta hazkunde eta oparotasunera itzultzea iragartzen duten udaberriko lehen txorien kantuak, lehorte batetik arintzea agintzen duen ekaitz hurbila eta zeruko baleta gogorarazten digun itsasaldi aldaketak. Esperientzia horiek guztiek lurrarekin eta gure iragan ebolutiboarekin lotzen gaituzte.
One Square Inch of Silence Hoh Rain Forest-eko leku bat da, Olympic Parke Nazionalaren parte dena — ziurrenik Estatu Batuetako lekurik lasaiena. Baina hau ere arriskuan dago, Parke Nazionalen Zerbitzuak berak praktikatzen ez duen edo lege egokiek babesten ez duten politika batek soilik babesten baitu. Nire itxaropena da One Square Inch-ek benetako entzule bihurtu nahi duten guztiengan esnatze isila eragingo duela.
Isiltasun naturala zaintzea espezieen kontserbazioa, habitataren leheneratzea, hondakin toxikoen garbiketa eta karbono dioxidoaren murrizketa bezain beharrezkoa eta ezinbestekoa da , mende gazte honetan ditugun berehalako erronketako batzuk aipatzearren. Berri ona da isiltasuna erreskatatzea askoz errazago etor daitekeela beste arazo hauei aurre egitea baino. Lege bakar batek hobekuntza handi eta berehalakoa adieraziko luke. Lege horrek hegazkin guztiei debekatuko lieke gure parke nazional garbienen gainetik hegan egitea.
Isiltasuna ez da zerbaiten gabezia, baizik eta guztiaren presentzia. Hemen bizi da, sakonki, Hoh oihan tropikaleko hazbete karratu batean. Denboraren presentzia da, geldirik. Bularrean senti daiteke. Isiltasunak gure izaera, gure giza izaera elikatzen du, eta nor garen jakinarazten digu. Adimen hartzaileago batekin eta belarri afinatuago batekin, entzule hobeak bihurtzen gara, ez bakarrik naturarentzat, baita elkarrentzat ere. Isiltasuna suaren txingarrak bezala eraman daiteke. Isiltasuna aurki daiteke, eta isiltasunak zu aurki zaitzake. Isiltasuna galdu eta berreskuratu ere egin daiteke. Baina isiltasuna ezin da imajinatu, nahiz eta jende gehienak hala uste duen. Isiltasunaren arima puzten duen miraria bizitzeko, entzun egin behar duzu.
Isiltasuna soinu bat da, soinu asko, asko. Zenbatu baino gehiago entzun ditut. Isiltasuna koiotearen ilargi-argitan airea sinatzen duen kantua da, eta bere bikotekidearen erantzuna. Elurraren xuxurla erortzen da, geroago urtuko dena reggae erritmo harrigarri batekin, hain garbi ezen dantzatu nahi izango duzun. Polinizatzen ari diren intsektu hegodunen soinua da, melodia leunak bibratzen dituzten bitartean pinu adarretan sartu eta irteten diren bitartean haizetik aldi baterako ihes egiteko, intsektuen burrunba eta pinu hasperen nahasketa bat, egun osoan zurekin geratuko dena. Isiltasuna txita gaztaina-bizkarreko eta txahal gorri-bulardunen taldea da, txioka eta hegaldaka, zure jakin-mina gogoraraziz.
Entzun al duzu azkenaldian euria? Amerikako ipar-mendebaldeko oihan tropikal handia, ez da harritzekoa, entzuteko leku bikaina da. Hona hemen One Square Inch of Silence-n entzun dudana. Euri-sasoiko lehen ordua ez da batere euritsua izaten. Hasieran, hazi ugari erortzen dira zuhaitz garaietatik. Laster, astigar hostoen txalo leunak entzuten dira, eta haziak neguko manta gisa lasaitzen dira. Baina kontzertu lasai hau sarrera bat besterik ez da.
Euri-jasa handi askoren lehenengoa iristen denean, bere ereserki indartsua askatuz, zuhaitz espezie bakoitzak bere soinua ateratzen du haize eta euripean. Euri-tanta handienak ere ez dira inoiz lurrera iritsiko. Ia 90 oin gora, baso-geruzan, hostoek eta azalak hezetasun gehiena xurgatzen dute... aireko belaki hau busti eta tantak berriro sortu eta urrunago jaisten diren arte... beheko adarretan jo eta soinua xurgatzen duten goroldio-oihaletan erori... iratze epifitoetan jo... ahabia-zuhaixketan ahulki erori... eta salal hosto gogor eta sendoak jo... azkenean, tantek entzungaitzki egur-ozpinetako hirusta-itxurako hosto delikatuak okertu eta lurrera tantaka isuri aurretik. Egunez edo gauez entzunda, ballet likido honek ordubetez baino gehiago iraungo du benetako euria amaitu ondoren.
Robert Kochen abisua gogoratuz, gaixotasunen kausak identifikatzen dituen metodo zientifikoaren garatzailea, uste dut isiltasunaren galera kontrolaezina ikatz-meategi bateko kanario bat dela, mundu mailako bat. Hemen ezin badugu jarrerarik hartu, desagertzen ari den isiltasun naturalaren arazoari kasurik egiten ez badiogu, nola espero dezakegu ingurumen-krisi konplexuagoekin hobeto moldatzea?
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Amazing Article ! The contents so described are soul touching and capable enough to arouse the inner feeling of a sincere reader and a thinking man...This was the reason why our great saints and Hermits used to leave the cities and towns and migrated to the valleys and on the lap of great mountains to find the eternal truth...They were realizing that Silence is Golden and its sound is rhythmic but one need to have a pair of sensitive ears to listen those vibrant music of the nature....We do not need instruments to accompany and throat breaking noise or sound to catch anybody's attention. Instead we will learn the melodious songs of cuckoos, bellowing of cattle and similar sounds which will never break any body's journey for the silence. It is certainly soul searching to enter into a silent place and keep on listening and looking....one will automatically immerse in the soul of the mother nature..How beautiful that moment would be....It is to be experienced...So be away from the madding crowd at least once in a week.. and enjoy the silent songs of the nature..which is God Gifted to us...let us also explore and experience those mesmerizing impact of the silence and natures songs like a lullaby sung by our mother during our childhood.....
[Hide Full Comment]Beautiful! I live in SW Colorado surrounded by national forest & wilderness. I was struck on 9/11 when all the planes were grounded by the silence. In Bali they have a day a year when no planes fly, transportation & commercial activity stops. 24/7 commerce & non-stop human activity is a plague. I experience great blessings in having moments where the inner Silence of conscious awareness & the outer silence of moments here on the outskirts of so-called civilization I hear nothing but the sounds of nature, even their activity stills at times. The lake frozen over functions as a sound chamber making eerie mystifying sounds. Something occurs in body & soul in the naturalness. We are such amazing beings of consciousness, love & light and of human spirit, and creatures of the natural world also. Stop to smell the roses. Taste the wind. Touch the bark of a tree, the pine needles softness. See the natural light of sun, moon & stars. And listen, listen from the quietness within. Let natural sounds penetrate you & see how that feels. Contact with Silence within and without restores us. There's so much to be heard from the still small voice to the hum of the hummingbird, the robin heralding spring. Ultimately it all informs us as well as restores us. Listen up, those with ears to hear. The resounding Word is everywhere in everything.
[Hide Full Comment]Thank you, DailyGood and Gordon Hempton, for this beautiful piece. I will return to it often. And some day I hope to visit One Square Inch. Remembering Phillip Levine, who passed away Saturday -- here's a stanza from one his poems, Our Valley, that honors the immensity of silence. Thank you Phillip Levine. Peace all.
"You probably think I’m nuts saying the mountains have no word for ocean,
but if you live here you begin to believe they know everything.
They maintain that huge silence we think of as divine,
a silence that grows in autumn when snow falls
slowly between the pines and the wind dies
to less than a whisper and you can barely catch
your breath because you’re thrilled and terrified."
Thank you for debunking the misconception that silence is soundless. I think that, ultimately, listening to silence is mindfulness, meditation, presencing ...
I live in the Pacific
[Hide Full Comment]Northwest, and have all my 58 years. I teach in a local high school, and
get to share yoga as a PE elective. I have had a long standing focus for
yoga that it is quiet and without music, which is viewed at first by the students
as unfair and unheard of. Students at
first are frightened and surprised by how loud their personal thoughts are in
the silence of the yoga room, and then begin to crave the absence of
technology-driven distraction. I teach walking classes as a PE elective,
and the students are not allowed to listen to music and plug their ears with
earbuds or headphones (for ‘exercise’ motivation if you can imagine), nor even
have their phones with them (some drop the class because they are unable to do
this). We are located within the noise
pollution radius of the freeway, an expanding airport, and relentless increases
in coal/oil trains. We walk sidewalks
along streets with cars whizzing by, in close proximity to the hospital
helipad, and recently drones just overhead.
I do though get to observe students begin to recognize bird sounds from
chickadees, sparrows, juncos, hummingbirds, cedar waxwings, robins, seagulls,
crows, starlings, and then the local peregrine chatter and if really lucky eagle
cries from a hundred feet up as they circle toward the river. The students begin to discern the difference
between dog barks of ‘Hello, I’m here, can we play?’ and ‘Get away’. They start entertaining the idea they are no
longer invisible and recognize community members walking, biking, and jogging by
using eye contact and saying the word ‘hi’.
They have the opportunity to acquire listening and empathy skills as
they spend an hour with a walking partner who is conversing with them in close
contact. I love my job. The real reason I am writing, though, is that
over the years of indiscriminant development and significant paving of
farmland-open space-forested land in my beloved slice of heaven, there is a
slogan perpetuated by the local military base whose flights overhead have
stepped up significantly in the past ten years that this continuous low flying
military jet noise is the sound of freedom…and this includes the flights toward
the Olympic Peninsula, as well as over the San Juan Islands, toward Mt. Baker,
over a multitude of local lakes and streams, tiny communities, and wildlife of
all types. You may be able to tell I
would argue with this as we continue to raise generation after generation void
of connection with nature, quiet places and spaces, and opportunities for
silence.