You are on a beach. Swish- Swoosh- the waves wash up and down the sandy shore.
You are indoors on a pouring day. Ta- ta- ta- ta- the raindrops beat down on the roof of your house.
You are walking down a midnight road. Chi- chi- chi- the crickets chirp in the nearby distance.
Radio static, whirring fans, waterfalls, the sounds of the early morning, your family members cooking away in the kitchen; all these are, as scientists coin it, white noise.
Only when these sounds disappear do you suddenly acknowledge their existence. Just a few moments ago, the so-thought “silence” was stable, the world felt seemingly at peace, balanced, as all things should be; but now, the “true” silence is growing eerily uncomfortable. You can’t exactly put your finger on why.
Suddenly, thoughts from all sorts of places come out from the depths of your brain, mostly questions previously neglected by the consciousness. “Where am I?”, “What am I doing?”, “I swear someone is watching me”, or even, “What is the meaning of life?”.
The truth is, those thoughts have always been there, just “guarded” and kept away by the white noise of life; and it is life which raises these questions.
Questions meant to raise doubt in ourselves, to destroy our self-confidence and tear down our self-esteem. That is what a lot of people struggling with their own psyche suffer from.
Life is messy, and it is easy to lose yourself in the “noise” of life, or in this case, the complete silence of life.
The silence acts as a mirror, forcing yourself to reflect, but at some point you are no longer constructively criticizing yourself, you are doubting yourself and your abilities. “Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.” White noise is a medium, allowing self-reflection, while preventing self-destruction. Life is noisy, and white noise is the noise which drowns out all the other noise.
White noise is calming. Some listen to it before they sleep, some listen to it to help them sleep, and some straight up need it for them to fall asleep.
Something about a single, constant, mono-frequency, almost ignorable sound which is barely there, which calms down the “butterflies” in our stomachs. Before a high-pressure event, after a stressful incident, white noise proves to be an effective therapist for our high-motor brains. It gives our brains something to focus on, but does not take up all of our focus.
White noise provides a needed atmosphere in life, whether you realise it or not. It is always there, in the background, giving a backdrop to everything else going on in the foreground. Appealing to the sense of hearing, white noise and sound in general makes up one fifth of the way we perceive the world.
The sound of the washing waves on the beach is what makes the ocean so many people’s “happy place”.
The sound of the raindrops tapping on your roof is what makes you feel so cozy being indoors on such a day outside. The chirping of the crickets turns a chilling midnight road into one pushing you along to the safety of your home. TV static prevents awkward silences during technical difficulties. Whirling fans make unbearable summers pass just a bit faster…
White noise gives life the context in places which would otherwise be dull or straight up unpleasant.
It is here I want to talk about music, more specifically background music, an almost “evolved” version of white noise.
Recently, I have advocated that “life needs its own BGM (background music)”. Like all your favourite TV shows, cartoons, all media sources, the background music is an essential part of the bigger show. Just imagine cartoons without their theme songs, romance scenes without saxophones, comedy without sound effects,
Mission Impossible without “dum dum da-dum, dum dum da-dum” simply wouldn’t work.
Music sets a tone in media, and so does it set a mood in life. It really helps to indulge yourself in a musical world to motivate yourself before a task, during a task, or to commend yourself after a task. Not to mention that humming to the tune of your favorite song makes it really hard for you to be in a bad mood, no matter what you’re doing. Music acts as a companion during tough times, and acts as a buddy who’ll accompany you through your finest times.
If white noise acts as a therapist, music does even more so. It goes beyond just calming minds.
Music has healing properties, with music therapy being a real way people recover from major mental trauma.
Listening to scores and grooving to beats are ways people use to express their emotions, and also how they deal with those emotions.
Perhaps music is magical, perhaps humans just love things that sound good, perhaps music is something we’ll continue to create but never truly figure out. Whatever the case, the truth stands that people are healed through music.
Trauma is dealt with, childhood demons are fought with. Lives, in some cases, are changed and saved through music.
In this constantly “rushing” state of the world we currently live in, we are surrounded by all sorts of distracting noise; especially in China. Next time you find yourself overwhelmed, try turning on an hour long “waterfall sounds” playlist, or tuning into your favourite song. Create an enjoyable mood for yourself. Live life at your own pace, with your own background music.
