sound focus

San Pedro, CA

My first four-hour, outdoor experience of the Walden Here project… I learned that four uninterrupted hours is a long time to do almost anything. I tried to be as attentive as I could, knowing that my mind would wander and I’d need to bring it back.

I was using all of my senses, but sound presented itself as my focus. It was a cool, cloudy day and the birds were active. I made my way along the coastline from Point Fermin to White’s Point and back.

Here are a few impressions from the day:

From the top of the cliff I could hear the waves pushing against the edge of the land below and pulling back. I walked under a massive, thick-trunked tree. Standing about two hundred feet above the water, the canopy of broad leaves created a dome of sound. Rather than coming up from below, the ocean’s wash seemed to rain down gently from above.

...

Up the hill in Angels Gate Park I stepped behind a steep, grassy berm and stood close to it. It blocked the ocean breeze and its damp thickness muffled everything. It felt safe. Yet there was also the faint uneasiness of knowing that the hill beneath was a warren of bunkers. 

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Deep into the day I began to wonder if maybe the boundaries between the senses are not as distinct as we think they are. I noticed that dark green leaves and lavender flowers made low tones in my mind. The yellow lily and coral-colored rose were more high-pitched.

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Looking down from a small point of land, near where the earth sloughed off into the sea years ago...the tide was low. The rocks along the shore were exposed. Every so often, an incoming wave would hit a large, rectangular rock in just the right way to make a low, muted thud. Even though it was in the distance I could feel the sound in my chest—the weight and force of kinetic water colliding with immovable stone. 

...

Once my feet were in the damp sand at sea level, the sound surrounded me. It came in toward the shore and rebounded from the cliff face behind me. Enveloping. Other sounds disappeared. It was calming, transcendent.