The HeART of Hearing

For those of us who have been blessed with perfect, or almost perfect hearing, I think we take advantage of this amazing gift.  We have the ability to hear everything and anything we wish, down to the mere sound of a pin dropping, while others either have assistance with aids, can only hear partially, or cannot hear something as loud as a fog horn.

I find it somewhat sad when I think to myself, "I wish it was quiet!!" while sitting in my room, with my door shut and rolling an earplug in my fingers, preparing to stuff it into my ear so I can read in "silence."  Given, I am one of those people who is easily distracted by sounds such as the tv, so I have to do this to concentrate, but that's a different subject.  Anywho.  Sound, in general, is marvelous and it is more apparent and it affects us more than we actually believe.

What made me think of this was the amazing composer, Ludwig van Beethoven (to whom you are now listening.)  Although he had written most of his music while having the gift of hearing, the last 10+ years of his life were actually spent partially or completely deaf, but he still wrote music these last years of his life for the love and passion of producing beautiful sounds.  He wrote such ranging differences in music; the first song on my playlist which is now playing, brings tears to my eyes because of how sweet it is, while the third is a triumphal song, which gives me the chills every time I hear it.  Such beauty and they came from the heart, which is where most beauty should radiate from.

I must bring someone else up, a man in which I love, one that heard things differently than others.  Not because he was deaf, but because he heard things in is mind and heart and then wrote it down on parchment.  Mmmm, I love him and I have loved him since I was a little girl.  He is yet another composer, one whom I have grown up listening to.  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  He is marvelous.  He had striking talent throughout his whole life, which is apparent from his many scores of music.

These two men, Beethoven and Mozart, although not devout religions men, I believe they were inspired.  Inspired from God to write such glorious music to rest upon our ears.  They listened to their heart and wrote what they heard.  I could not be more grateful for that.  Their compositions have affected my life greatly.

Another note worthy person I would like to mention is someone I hardly knew; I don't even know her name.  We were both dance majors while in attendance at high school.  She was completely deaf, I believe, but she was in the most advanced level of dance the school provided, which was very advanced.  (Remember that music is needed for dance (in most cases) in case you forgot that little detail.) Her abilities were so great that she would never miss a beat.  She felt the rhythms of the music through the floor as well as watching her fellow dancers. (Audrey, correct me if I'm wrong.) This girl used feelings and sight as her ears.  Amazing.

These three people used something other than their ears to hear, they used their hearts; they used their hearts to create art.  This is something I have been working on; listening to my heart rather than the chaos of the world.  But keep in mind, not only should I be listening to my heart (as well as my feelings), but I must keep an open ear to my surroundings, which offer so many great sounds.

I hope all is well and that you'll take a little more time away from the tv and listen.  Now close your eyes and do just that, listen for a bit.