I thought that I would follow up my post from yesterday about favorite smells with asking myself what my favorite sounds are. In It's A Wonderful Life, George Bailey says, "You know what the three most exciting sounds in the world are? Anchor chains, plane motors and train whistles.” Sounds can really put you in a time and place and some of mine are listed below.
1) Thunderstorms
I still remember my mom telling me that God is bowling and we recently told my son this during the last storm we had this past Monday. But I find them calming and impressive all at once. I love that sound of crackling thunder mixed with the sight of lightning and the drops of heavy rain against your windows. As long as you don't have to go out in it, it's a spectacular view.
2) Birds calling in the morning
Morning is my favorite time of day, when everything is new and birds calling reminds me of that. I used to have a bird fly into my window at the house I grew up in, so whenever I hear birds call, I think of that bird. He must have done that for at least a month and that served as my alarm clock.
3) Fire crackling
Just like I enjoy the smell of fire, I enjoy the sound of its crackle just as much. It takes me to campfires or sitting in front of a fireplace enjoying a hot chocolate. It's a very soothing noise, and one that can always calm my nerves.
4) The ocean waves
I also wrote about how much I loved the smell of the ocean breeze. I recorded the sound of the ocean as the waves sweetly rocked in and out as I watched from our balcony in Oahu. I watch that video from time to time, and it always makes me want to go back there.
5) When a baseball hits a wooden bat
I used to love it when I would get a hit on the sweet spot of a wooden bat. I played in a wooden bat league towards the end of high school, and I'm so glad that I did because the sound of a wooden bat cannot compare to the bing noise from a metal one. It makes me think of what baseball truly is and should be in its purest form.
6) An airplane taking off
As scary as take offs and landings are, they are also both extremely exciting noises to me. It always makes me think about going to a new place, just like seeing a plane in the sky. My son will see planes now and will always stop and point, just as I had when I was a boy.
7) Wind through the leaves
This seems to be all the more beautiful in the fall when the leaves seem to dance with their wide variety of colors. A simple light breeze not only feels good on your skin, but it sounds good as it passes through mother nature.
8) Laughter
I can't think of anything more pleasant to the ears than genuine laughter, especially that of a young child. When there is so much pain and suffering in the world, to hear someone laugh is music to the soul. We need more of it today, and I am so glad that God gave us this gift to share with others.
9) Fireworks
There are so many fireworks shows that I remember attending, but the boom and bang aren't the only things that have resonated with me throughout the years. It's the music that came with them and the "Oohs and Ah's" and the conversations along with it. If I saw a White Sox game, fireworks meant a homerun or a good time following the game. Their sound means a million different things depending on the situations, and that's truly remarkable.
10) Grandfather clocks
I have always loved the sound of the chime of a grandfather clock as it turns an hour. It's the deep striking noise that signals the passage of time in such a meaningful way. I've always loved that.
I didn't include music or singing in here because that's a given. I appreciate several different types of music and musical instruments, but I wanted to talk about noises outside of that realm. Thinking on what has been my favorites in my senses has really made me think about the world around me lately. What are your favorite sounds?
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