"…Living only for the moment, turning our full attention to the pleasures of the moon, the snow, the cherry blossoms and the maple leaves; singing songs, drinking wine, diverting ourselves just floating, floating….refusing to be disheartened, like a gourd floating along with the river current; this is what we call the floating world…” Asai Ryoi, in Ukiyo Monogatari (Tales of the Floating World, 1661)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Daily Life: Children of the Night - SHUT UP!
Silence is a precious commodity in our modern world. It is rare we can reach the point of true silence unless we are enclosed somewhere or isolated somewhere. I am craving a certain silence today and I suspect that the craving is going to be mostly denied. Here at work, between the chattering of voices, telephones reading, keyboards rattling, construction in the building, loud conversations in the hallway - well, silence seems a rare commodity.
When I find that I cannot attain silence, I can often attain a small degree of the same need by putting in my earphones and listening to my iPod. It is not silence, but it is mercifully free of the assorted distractions that come from working in an enclosed area with multiple people, including a few who have irritating voices, either in tone or mannerism.
Today, I am craving silence. I just flashed on the movie Love At First Bite, with George Hamilton. There is a scene in the movie where, awakened by the howling of wolves, Dracula arises from his coffin, blinks, and shouts: "Children of the Night - SHUT UP!". It is a funny little movie if you have never seen it before.
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