Noise or Sound?
Stressed out by work, I decided to go to a temple for the weekend and clear my mind.
I booked one of the temples on Jiri Mountain.
A few days before my check-in date, I got a call from the temple coordinator.
Coordinator: I called to inform you that a small part of the temple site is currently under construction, so there might be some noise.
Soom: Ah…really? Hm… That would be a problem. Do you know when the construction will finish?
Coordinator: It should be done by the end of this month.
Soom: Then can I postpone my stay until the construction is complete? I’m worried that I might not be able to relax because of the construction sound.
Coordinator: Sure. I will let you know when the construction is done.
I immediately booked another temple nearby.
Guess what I found as soon as I got there?
The second temple was also under construction!!!
Isn’t it ironic?
I tried to avoid a noise, and now I faced another noise!
That made me realize…
When I try to avoid a struggle in life, life brings another.
I should learn to deal with whatever comes to me instead of trying to avoid it.
When I first arrived at the (second) temple and saw the construction, I was annoyed.
I traveled all this way to have peace and quiet—not to listen to construction noise. The more I focused on the construction noise, the more I got annoyed.
I closed my eyes and just let it be.
Then I realized that the construction sound became a noise because I judged it and labeled it as unpleasant.
There is no pleasant or unpleasant sound.
There is no better or worse sound.
Why am I judging the construction sound?
I should accept it as it was.
The construction sound shouldn’t be different from any other sound.
Then the construction noise became one of many sounds surrounding me, along with the sound of wind and birds.