The sound everybody needs to hear

You've heard spoken many times before: "I heard the sound of silence and it changed me." Yesterday I went up to the Valley of the Fallen, an enormous cross monument created as a memorial for those who died in the bloody Spanish Civil War. When I was there, I wondered how many tourists came home with identical pictures of the thing--once you're at the base of it, there's little room for photographic creativity. Every picture shows what an ant must see when it looks up at a human.

So this cross is on top of a mountain in a secluded area (there's a functioning monastery 100 feet away). Although the occasional car drives by in the far distance, this is a place where you can hear the beautiful sound of silence. Usually when I hear it, I think something like, "Come on wind and trees, speak to me!" But this time I had no revelations. I just sat there for a minute and thought about how nice it was to hear nothing.

As I write, some idiot is renovating his apartment next door. Mr. Renovator isn't always drilling things. He seems to also have an insatiable taste for bad American music...bands I typically only listen to to have a good laugh. I'm talking about Nickelback, the Backstreet Boys, Rihanna, and yes, Evanescence (thanks again, Mr. DIY...p.s. http://www.thewebshite.net/nickelback.htm).
Anyway city life is great. The adjustment hasn't been drastic at all. I thought it might have had obvious repercussions, but things are not so noticeably different. Sometimes, though, it's essential to escape this huge silence-poverty, sit on a mountain, and hear nothing but the wind and the trees.

-griff