At last it is beginning to feel like spring. We can open up our doors and windows and step outside without a coat, anticipating the wonderful sounds and smells of fresh air and bright sunshine. But, the disappointment is like that of a child on Christmas morning, who had hoped desperately to get the bicycle he had asked for – only to find shirts and socks underneath the tree.
I stepped outside to work on my garden bed, where I was serenaded by lawn mowers, string trimmers, chain saws, a rototiller from across the street, and loud trucks flying by on the road. These sounds were occasionally drowned out by the roar of aircraft above me. Children screaming incessantly from the preschool on the opposite corner and music blaring from someone’s window, also filled the air.
I began to mow the lawn when I was blasted with a strong scent of herbicide, followed by cigarette smoke wafting from the yard next door, the smell of dryer sheets coming from two doors down, and the stench of diesel fuel and exhaust from tired vehicles.
This was not what I had dreamt of longingly for these past winter months. I dreamed of the fresh fragrance of flowers and rich humus. I dreamed of petrichor and the pure scent of clouds. I saw myself taking deep breaths of fresh air – not struggling with asthma that makes it difficult to take a breath at all.
I pictured swarms of silent butterflies feasting at my flowers. I imagined hearing the swift flight of hummingbirds darting from flower to feeder. I dreamed of hearing bees buzzing as they worked to gather pollen. In my mind, I heard only the sounds of Nature, of squirrels chattering and birds calling out to one another. The reality is that the sounds my soul longs to hear, cannot be heard above the din of continuous noise that pervades modern human life.
