SoundWalk
Every other night after dinner I take a long walk around my neighborhood.
Usually I refer to this practice as a form of walking meditation, where I listen to music and I let the world pass me by.
For my soundwalk I take the same route around my neighborhood at the same time, however I leave my headphones at home.
The first sound I hear are the leaves rusting in the trees. It's light and airy and makes me feel calm. I hear this sound periodically.
I listen to the different vehicles pass through the street and hear bits of strangers' conversations.
I walk down the block and hear the landmark noise of the 7 train. I hear faint music from the bars. The sound of a bicycle rings, it's mechanisms, and the air it cuts strikes my ear.
I move towards the more "suburban" part of my neighborhood. More strangers, I hear the pats of their feet. Stores pulling down the security grate, a restaurant dumping a basin of water into the street, parking motor scooters.
It's getting late. The deeper I walk the more silence I encounter. For a while it's just me and the whistling trees. A bus passes by and I hear it's gentle hum vibrating against my ribs.
Dogs. Leashes. Flip flops.
I focus on the sound of my breathing, and how the wind hits my ears.
Around me exists a gentle warble of noise.
Like a radiator in an otherwise quiet bedroom.
It's never quiet in my neighborhood.
Usually I refer to this practice as a form of walking meditation, where I listen to music and I let the world pass me by.
For my soundwalk I take the same route around my neighborhood at the same time, however I leave my headphones at home.
The first sound I hear are the leaves rusting in the trees. It's light and airy and makes me feel calm. I hear this sound periodically.
I listen to the different vehicles pass through the street and hear bits of strangers' conversations.
I walk down the block and hear the landmark noise of the 7 train. I hear faint music from the bars. The sound of a bicycle rings, it's mechanisms, and the air it cuts strikes my ear.
I move towards the more "suburban" part of my neighborhood. More strangers, I hear the pats of their feet. Stores pulling down the security grate, a restaurant dumping a basin of water into the street, parking motor scooters.
It's getting late. The deeper I walk the more silence I encounter. For a while it's just me and the whistling trees. A bus passes by and I hear it's gentle hum vibrating against my ribs.
Dogs. Leashes. Flip flops.
I focus on the sound of my breathing, and how the wind hits my ears.
Around me exists a gentle warble of noise.
Like a radiator in an otherwise quiet bedroom.
It's never quiet in my neighborhood.
I like the details you brought in this blog - the security gate, the water getting dumped into the street, the screech of the 7 train... These are all quintessential NYC sounds and the details you give make it universal. I feel like I am on that street with you.
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