February theme: Silence

Each month of 2025 will have a theme that guides my outdoor explorations and my reading.

Hi readers, happy February! I know that this year hasn’t been easy for many of you so far. I hope that you’ve nevertheless had the space to enjoy the small things, in nature or elsewhere, and that we all have the courage to continue fighting the good fight, in whatever way.

February is part of winter where I live. It’s often a time when I feel that the world is most silent – the busy period around Christmas is long gone, it is cold, and despite the first signs of spring, nature has not properly awakened. So, I have decided that before winter is over, I will deliberately focus on the quiet of this season: This month’s theme is

What even is silence?

I don’t think it’s just the absence of sound. I do not notice silence when scrolling through a long list of emails in a completely quiet room. But silence fills me when I look up at a clear starry sky, even when I am with friends who are quietly talking. For me, silence is also

• Waking up and realising it is Sunday

• Being alone on a mountain top

• Walking the streets in a windless snowy night

• The moment after all guests have left

• Meditation (sometimes)

• Looking out of the window at the quiet street and fields early in the morning, when I would usually still be asleep

The essence of silence, for me, is that there is emptiness in a positive sense – space that we can fill with noise, thoughts, or ideas if we want to, but that doesn’t have to be filled.

I often think: Maybe the way to solve a lot of our problems as a society would be to send everyone on a one-month holiday in a quiet place, alone, without technology. The silence would provide the space for thoughts and feelings to emerge and sort themselves out, at least to some degree. Maybe we would understand better what actually matters to us – and that it isn’t the speed, stuff, and competition that often fills our lives?

What I am doing this month

• Paying more attention to what I hear outdoors – noticing the sounds of the birds and the wind, and also the silence

• Learning about how humans influence the soundscapes of nature

• Reading books about silence – in the literal and figurative sense

• Spending time without communicating with anyone. I will be on a “writing retreat” (to write a scientific paper, not Substack posts!) for ten days, alone in a small village between mountains. So, this should not be difficult!

What is silence for you? I wish you a nice February, with some silent moments if you need them.

Hannah