Jean Arp- Torso of a Giant 1964
Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation… tooting, howling, screeching, booming, crashing, whistling, grinding, and trilling bolster his ego. His anxiety subsides. His inhuman void spreads monstrously like a gray vegetation.
~Jean Arp
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Redtree Times 
Amen!
Here’s another thought for the so-called “holiday shopping season”:
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
– William Wordsworth, 1806
Nice…
On Mon, Dec 2, 2013 at 11:00 AM, Redtree Times
I am tempted to disagree somewhat in that I think all the noise increases our anxiety a hundredfold. I am lucky to live in a forest where occasionally at night I can cherish something approaching silence.
That was the one part of this quote that stumped me a bit as well, Moira. I, too, think that all this noise can only add to a collective anxiety.
On Mon, Dec 2, 2013 at 11:15 AM, Redtree Times
On the other hand, I think there are very many people who truly can’t bear “the sound of silence”. That’s why we have the phrase “an awkward pause”. I know some people who can’t stand to be in silence. They’ll either chatter inanely in a group, or keep the television on 24/7 to avoid silence. I think that’s what Arp’s referring to – the people who are so anxious, they need to make noise to distract themselves.
Sort of like this.
I think you’re right on Arp’s intent, Linda. I know so many people who need the noise of the world around them all the time. Thanks for the Simon and Garfunkel– you can never go wrong with them.