Out of Five, the Sense Which Makes the Most Impact

To me, the best part about being alive are the rewards and punishments of our senses. It is what makes us alive. Whether sight, hearing, taste, touch or smell, our five senses not only act as our antennas and create awareness to what is happening around us, but they also can feed us in ways that bring peace to the soul.

Having worked in the filmmaking field for years, I've been given a unique insight to audio and visual senses. It amazes me that people will tolerate horrible video, but will notice the tiniest hiss or infraction in the audio. It seems like audio, sound, is more important to our human brain, than what we see in front of us.

Let me start with the sounds that I dislike:

Humans speaking evil and hurtful things.

Humans crying, screaming or yelling.

Mechanized noise such as a whining motorcycle, roaring engine, leaf blower, television rattle or loud, overpowering music.

Military sounds: bombs, machine guns, explosions.

Nails on a chalkboard

Mosquitoes swarming

A dog growling

Howling wind from a violent storm or fire

Ok, you hear what I'm saying.

But, like everything, there is an opposite. Things that bring me pleasure:

A baby cooing and taking comfort from its mother, with small laughs and giggles

A poetic piece of music that conjures up peace and spirituality

Gentle rainfall falling on the roof

Birds singing in the morning just as the sun rises

Owls chanting at night

Horse hoofs galloping

Water flowing in a small stream, gliding over rocks and sticks

A woman singing softly, gently

Leaves blowing in the wind

Wind blowing through a screen window

My father whistling

The small, peeper frogs chirping on a spring night

My mother singing a family folksong, passed on from long ago

The almost silent sound of snow falling

The rumble of distant thunder

A woodpecker tapping on a tree

A child talking to themself while playing

Voices: Roberta Flack, Hoyt Axton, Burl Ives, Mary Travers...

As I sit here thinking of all the positive sounds, it makes me feel really good. Hoping it did the same for you!