Soundscapes
Soundscapes
by Beatriz Gómez Acuña | Evanston, IL
The year is 2014. My phone keeps pushing notifications—some from friends, some from news outlets, several from random groups and marketing campaigns, and many, too many, from work. The constant chime keeps me on edge; it makes me anxious. I wonder: What’s going on? Will I miss out if I turn these notifications off? Can I afford to ignore them? I had been living with all this noise for years, but in 2014 I decide I can’t take it any longer.
So, I go and walk. I embark on my first Camino. I still have my phone, but it’s buried in my backpack, the coverage is spotty anyway, and notifications are turned off. As I walk, I start to listen to sounds: birds, wind, waterfalls, rivers, rain, cowbells, church bells. These sounds help me feel happy, relaxed, engaged, uplifted, renewed, connected. I want to be here, in this space, holding this feeling forever.
So, I go back. And back again. And again. And now it’s 2024 and I have just finished my tenth Camino. Every Camino gifts me a new soundscape. I’ve learned that it is not just a bird, but a nightingale, a goldfinch, a blackbird, or a robin. I can now distinguish their songs. I know now what a North Atlantic storm sounds like and how the wind sounds different before and after the rain. I am familiar too with the music of croaking frogs calling out during the mating season. And the subtle sound of wheat stalks swishing on a gorgeous June afternoon.
And now home, I keep with me the sounds of the Camino I brought back. I got rid of the noise in my life and replaced it with soundscapes. Camino soundscapes. Soundscapes that enhance my wellbeing because now I am present.
