Why Couldn't I Hear the Birds

Last year, I returned from a solo backpacking trip deep in the redwoods of Northern California. Out there, under the canopy of giant, ancient trees, I heard something like I had never heard before—birds. Not just chirps and flutters, but a full orchestra of wild, vibrant sounds. Their songs echoed through the stillness in a way that I didn’t just hear, but experienced. From tree to tree, each call was crisp and alive, layered with meaning that I could almost understand. I stood in awe, wondering how I had gone so long without truly hearing this kind of music. I told myself, "I have to come back here regularly just to hear the birds." 

A few mornings later, after I returned home, I settled into my usual porch ritual—coffee in hand, the world just waking up. And then it hit me. Those same birds, the same songs, the same voices. It was almost like I was transported back to the redwoods. They were right here all along, singing from the trees in my own yard. How on earth have I never noticed? The birds hadn’t changed. I had.

The question began to gnaw at me, "why couldn’t I hear them?" Had I become over-civilized? Too wrapped up in the hustle of everyday life, the traffic, the notifications, the to-do lists, the endless social media scrolling, the pressures of work? My world had become so loud that I stopped listening. Not just with my ears, but with my awareness. Somewhere along the way I tuned out the sights and sounds around me. Not intentionally, but gradually, as the quiet parts of life got swallowed by the noise of this busy world. I had become stuck in the rat race, always moving, always striving in that forward march, and I lost touch with nature's natural rhythms.   

It took being in the forest, where the only soundtrack was wind and wing for my senses to reawaken. Out there, I remembered how to listen. I was regenerated, restored, healed. Now, when I sit on my porch, I listen. Not just with my ears, but with attention, with presence. And the birds? They’re still singing. Maybe they always were. Sometimes, nature doesn’t get louder, we just get quieter.