I, and I would venture to say we, have become so accustomed to multiple stimulus that it took conscious control for me tonight to relax in silence. Well, not complete silence. I was watching television, but also recording the show for my wife to watch later. During the commercials rather than flipping away, stimulating myself, I sat with the set muted and waited.

Actually it was an interesting experience. At first I noticed my heartbeat and could feel the pulse of it circulating blood through my body. I could hear the VCR humming, and the rattling of the cars passing by outside. The background stimuli that fill up our heads and ears.
But it was interesting because I started to notice what was around me in the room. On the left side of the TV is a hand-painted sushi plate and cross-stiched picture. Two unique items that no one else has in their homes.
On the right side is a 2x3 foot oil painting. It is unique not only because each stroke was placed on the canvas by a human hand, but it depicts a picture of an obscure mountain in the Philippines that no one I show the painting to has seen. In front of it stands a paper lumberjack, a hand-folded piece of art from Korea that is simple and yet stunning. Beside it a picture of my wedding, and on the back wall a Koa-wood framed, signed print of a photograph of a white Hawaiian plumaria relfect on a white surface that makes it look like two flowers.

All of this, each piece so vibrant, each a testament to the artistry of life. Each a witmess to the world that exists, real and physical, more than a digital description of life. And yet with this surrounding me, I sit on my couch watching a show that will come back in re-runs and on DVD, I sit and watch and suffer through the silence during the commercials.