Silence

I walk down to the river on my own to catch some fresh air after spending most of the day cleaning the house.  I notice a strange quietness...there is no-one around, there is no sound.

Silence.

I stand still in the middle of the road and listen.  
No wind in the trees
No farmer working the land
No car in the neighbourhood
No stjilping birds
No planes

Silence

I try to listen, but it's hard not to start thinking about things, not about previous walks, not about the children playing at home, not about my work, not about this post I could write about silence.

No, I try to get my thoughts back to this sense and concentrate on this rare experience.
And in fact, there are some sounds, but all very faint and far away. 
A dog barks in the next village across the valley, and someone over there has turned on some machinery.  

I walk further down to the river and sit down on the bench in the sun near the water.  Here the sound of running water is clear, but other than that it's still so deserted here. No other walkers, just me in this sunny landscape.  So I try to sit there and use my senses without my phone, without my thoughts.  It's hard, but I try to be there in the moment for just a couple of minutes. And I realize I'm happy at that moment. 

Silence.