Nature Loves Quiet SundaysBy Jon Paul Sank
Can you imagine why nature would love quiet Sundays? Try! On this imaginary quiet Sunday, nobody is driving around shopping. Nobody is dropping off and picking up children all over town. Nobody is mowing lawns or whacking weeds. Hardly anybody is traveling to or from work. Some people are walking in their neighborhood; some are bicycling a few miles. Now please recall the Great Silence of 2020. Did you hear it? After the Trump administration laid down the 15 Days to Slow the Spread, it got phenomenally quiet. I remember stepping outside of work one day. My workplace sits near the intersection of two four-lane roads, and the immediate area has dozens of stores adjoining vast parking lots. It was dead quiet. Traffic was ultra-light. The parking lots were almost empty. It was so quiet that I listened more closely, and yes, even the traffic far away was nearly silent! My own inner noise then seemed loud. I took a minute to shush that hubbub. What a marvel it was, this great silence! I recall, also, reading news about how there were more animal sightings in various places. Apparently the critters felt bolder, hardly having any vehicles to dodge. Hear it in your mind's ear! As the human world gets silent, the birds seem louder. You can hear more of them from farther away. You see more kinds of animals more often. You hear some of the noises they make. Maybe you take a short trip to a house of religion or philosophy, but that's it. Basically, you're home with family or pets or books. As you breathe and sniff, the air seems cleaner, and guess what? It really is. Yours are not the only ears enabled by the quieting. All of the creatures in your neighborhood can hear one another better and farther away. That can't be bad. I read once that in outer space, astronauts can see the effect when large regions below observe a weekly sabbath, day of prayer, or day off. Key pollutants actually decline for the day. Nature loves quiet Sundays because they give her a chance to recharge and to absorb and dissipate some of what humans have been throwing and blowing at her all week long. Whether you're more concerned about climate change or the pollution of your local creek, quiet Sundays would surely help a lot. I propose the slogan NATURE LOVES QUIET SUNDAYS as a unifying rallying cry. Not only can environmentalists and liberals support it, but so can religious and conservative people. One might even say, "Blue laws are green laws". A day for nature to recharge is also a day for religious people to worship, for everyone to enjoy a day off, and for low-level workers to have a predictable day off. What about the economy, you say? I direct your attention to large companies, like Chick-fil-A, that have demonstrated what I call "Six-Day Success". Such companies have much to teach. The seven-day-a-week economy is of relatively recent vintage. Many decades ago, our economy was restricted to six days much more so than now. It didn't stop great fortunes or small livings from being made. So, please remember, Nature Loves Quiet Sundays. Start saying it to people around you and mentioning it online! Suggest it to your lawmakers and other people in power! After all, who would reject such an idea? Would anyone? |