Listening

“No one can have an idea once he really starts listening.”

— John Cage

When one attends a concert, it is most annoying and distracting to be seated next to someone engaged in conversation while the music is going on, even if the conversation is about the music. Unfortunately, all too often this is precisely the case, except that the distracting voice is inside our own heads.

The little voice of the language-using part of our minds has a vast repertoire of topics and techniques to keep chattering. They range from the mundane (let's see, how can I get both the car fixed and do the laundry tomorrow...) to the irrelevant observation (these chairs are uncomfortable..., why don't the musicians smile more?) to all kinds of judgements and comparisons about the music (Chicago played it better last year..., it's not as good as my recording at home..., the conductor has obviously no understanding of the composer's intentions in the development...).

All three, especially the first two, are due to the natural tendency of the mind to ramble on whenever possible, regardless of whether it serves any purpose to do so. This tendency is exacerbated by manifold aspects of Western culture. We are deluged with words, words, words, from an uncountable number of sources — TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, advertisements, school, work, and so on, all competing for our attention (and usually our money). This competition promotes the ever-increasing use in the media of flashy technique over substance: everything is fast fast fast, newer and more super and more scandalous than ever before. The tempo of everyday life has likewise accelerated: fast cars, fast food, pressure to achieve and produce, pressure to consume and spend.

The mind is more than happy to think or worry about any of this just as long as it can keep going. There is precious little chance for a little silence or solitude; in fact, many of us have become stress junkies — we become uncomfortable being quiet or alone without the constant little jolts of adrenalin from the many distractive intrusions of "modern living". A concert hall situation may minimize the external distractions, but it is still difficult to shut off the internal noise after so much practice in keeping it going.

“When we are proud, that pride keeps us from observing very clearly.”

— John Cage