“Hello darkness, my old friend.”
The opening line of Simon and Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence still feels hauntingly current. It is a song about loneliness, but also about awareness. It reminds us that in silence, we truly begin to listen.

Silence is where presence begins. It is where we can hear life breathing around us. Yet today, silence has almost vanished.

Homo sapiens urbanis

I have been fortunate enough to experience absolute, pin-drop silence. In those moments, even your heartbeat feels loud, and the sound of your breath is the most audible rhythm. It is in that stillness that you perceive the sound of silence itself. But our species, Homo sapiens urbanis, may never know this feeling again.

Step outside and silence feels extinct. Our daily soundscape is an endless mix of horns, engines, and voices that never pause.

The Lost Sound of Togetherness

Every time I go out, it is usually to savour good food in the company of people I love, whether friends, family, or colleagues. Yet more often than not, we end up shouting over background music that should have stayed in the background.

Personally, I seek restaurants that play soft music, where you can hear your food, your thoughts, and each other. These spaces are rare. When I am with younger people, they sometimes find my preference odd. To them, noise seems lively. To me, calm feels real.

It is even more peculiar in gyms. They focus so much on building strength that they forget about protecting hearing. Loud music is treated as motivation, but it harms more than it helps.

Even weddings, parties, and corporate events have become sound contests. Volume is mistaken for energy, shouting for joy.