Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 31/08/2025 04:43

Soothe the soul of our nation

Recently, while staying in Parlatuvier, one of the first things that struck me upon our arrival at the cabin was the "loud silence" of nature. For those of us who live in even slightly populated areas, the man-made environmental sounds of vehicles, music, voices, weed-whackers, blowers, random bangs (cars backfiring, gunshots, sirens, transformers blowing, etc) are such a part of everyday life that sometimes we barely notice them. Even the hum of electricity, seemingly imperceptible, is loud and invasive – which we realize only when current is abruptly cut, leaving a dead silence. These everyday noises constantly impact on our nerves and senses, violating our central nervous system and "contributing to an increased risk of neuropsychiatric disorders such as stroke, dementia and cognitive decline, neuro-developmental disorders, depression, and anxiety disorder." (Science Direct) In order to unplug as much as possible from technology, I chose to not take my laptop to Parlatuvier. Without man-made technological trappings to distract from the surrounding natural world, we become immersed in nature’s healing frequencies – energetically, sonically and visually. Lying in the hammock on the verandah, at varying times, gazing up through leaves of towering trees, the sky became my screen, displaying the natural animation of clouds’ changing shapes, accompanied by the surround sound effects of wind, the nearby waterfall (partially visible from the verandah), early morning squawking cocricos... daytime twittering of songbirds...evening shrieking of pairs of parrots. As I write this article, the morning after returning from that natural reverie, I hear the drone of a weed-whacker next door like a motorised mosquito on steroids. “Welcome back to civilization!” it declares. A friend living in Japan recently sent me a WhatsApp message: [caption id="attachment_1175221" align="alignnone" width="541"] -[/caption] “Good morning. Not sure if I mentioned that at 5 pm every day there is a tune that is piped through most, if not all, cities and towns in Japan. It’s a sweet melody and I believe it may change a little from place to place.” She proceeded to share the recording she had done of that day’s 5 pm musical "broadcast" in Midtown Tokyo, adding: “The signal is there to notify little children, who might be out and playing, that it’s 5 pm and it’s time to work their way home for dinner. What a sweet and beautiful concept.” As I write this, I just listened to the "5 o’clock song" again, to remind myself of its essence. It is sweet, gentle, calming and as simply-played as one finger might pick out a melody on a keyboard. In its duration of less than one minute, it had the powerful effect of stilling my body, stopping my thoughts, soothing my soul – just as pure nature can. Even the harsh buzzing of the weed-whacker disappeared as the simple notes took over my consciousness. My response to my friend’s recording was: “Wowwwwww! How relaxing! How progressive! How calming. What you want to bet there is some relaxing code in those notes. They are so evolved. If it was Trini, it would be some soca thing to rev up the children.” She added: “It is so beautiful and civilised. Just a gentle reminder for everyone that the day is coming to a close. And in country towns there is a noon one. I believe that is for people working in fields or beaches or any outdoor place to be reminded to stop and have lunch.” Today, TT’s 63rd anniversary of Independence, is also a national day of prayer and reflection. Imagine TT following Japan’s "5 o’clock song" example in order to inspire the spirit of calm required to enable continued prayer and reflection or simply a few seconds of nationwide relaxation and release at least once a day. If creating our own version, however, it should not be loud soca and fast, pumping jingles. Instead, parasympathetic nervous systems around the nation will benefit from a simple, calming melody created through a deep understanding of the scientifically-proven effects of sound healing, where specific notes, tones and vibrations trigger increased inner/outer "well-being" on all levels, in all life forms (plant to animal) Just as the national anthem calls for us to stand, perhaps the right "5 o’clock song" for TT might help to soothe the soul of our nation and, over time, dissolve tendencies for the loud, aggressive, violent words, thoughts and deeds that have corrupted the inner and outer peace and purity of our homeland. As the saying goes: “Sounds so ‘crazy,’ it just might work!”   The post Soothe the soul of our nation appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.