Loud

Am I the only one who feels things have gotten a good deal louder lately? More and more I am coming to believe the volume of life seems to be on the rise. Case in point: the other night my wife and I  were having dinner with old friends at a local restaurant. Nothing fancy. Just catching up and hanging out. Around us were other patrons as well as at least a dozen television sets scattered throughout the establishment all tuned into some type of sporting event. For me, at least, the result is if I had something to say, then I had a lot of competition. If I wanted the people I was with to hear me with little difficulty - which I did - then I had to speak with a raised voice. It was the same with them.

My guess is folks at the other tables faced the same challenge. As the sounds around us increase, all of us end up adding to the higher noise. Where will it end?  For now, it seems as if we have two primary options: out-loud the loudness or try and remove ourselves from it. Relocating to a quiet setting sounds great, of course. After all, who among us doesn't like "peace and quiet.?" But even with that, there seems to be a growing phenomenon. We often end up placing ourselves in a setting that is not quiet. In my case, for instance, when I read or want to collect my thoughts, I prefer doing so with music that I enjoy. No true quiet there.

I know lots of folks who, when home alone, feel a need to turn on their television in order to have some noise. Are we addicted to noise? Yes. As social creatures, noise provides us with some level of connectivity so that we know we are not alone (even when we might want to be). All this is fine and no doubt has it has been for much of mankind's existence. But then there's the matter of volume or as the Grinch said, "All the noise, noise, noise!" Noise is fine so long as it does not interfere with communication. It is also important that we do not make the mistake of confusing noise with actual communicating.