Sounds Surround Us

Most mornings, I do a short guided meditation to start my day.

I don’t sit on the floor in a lotus position because I’d probably need a winch to get me up if I did.

Thankfully, you don’t have to be a good meditator to benefit. My mind dances all over, thinking about what to have for breakfast, what I need to do that day, the itch on my nose that won’t go away.

Experts say that’s normal. It’s what the mind does—just bring it back to your home base, as Jeff Warren, author and meditation instructor, calls it.

Many use the breath as a home base. It’s always there and readily assessable to return to after the many trips the mind takes.

Warren suggested another home base that works even better for me—sound.

I focus my attention on what I hear. A jet flies by. A dove coos in a nearby tree. A ceiling fan whirs overhead. A siren screams in the distance. A leaf blower roars next door. A lipkin shouts to a prospective mate, and small waves lap against the lake’s shore.

Sound surrounds us every moment of every day. Most of the time, they serve only as a background soundtrack to our busy lives and go unnoticed.

But what if we paid attention to what our world—past and present—sounds like? What if we enhanced our stories with sound?

It’s one of our senses often ignored in our writing. We describe what we see, sometimes what we smell but rarely what we hear. Adding sound to our stories provides another dimension, a different way for readers to connect to our experiences.

What paragraph or story can you write today that incorporates sound?

Remember, the only way to do this wrong is to not do it at all!

Until next time, happy writing!