I heard a sound the other day.  It was just a random bell, almost like an elevator ping.  Nothing special just something you might hear every day from one source or another, maybe even several times a day depending on the source.  But in this particular moment, this sound prompted me to think about how significant a simple sound can be – how one singular and often innocent sound can hold so much meaning.  And more importantly how a long forgotten bare and deep emotion can be elicited with just this innocent sound.

There is a church – the “North Church” – that sits smack in the middle of Market Square in downtown Portsmouth, where I live.  The “North Church” is a beautiful old structure originally built in 1657 and frequented by historical figures such as William Whipple, John Langdon, and Daniel Webster.  George Washington is said to have attended a service there, as well.   As with most churches, the bell tower of the North Church rings on the hour.  I don’t always hear it.  Sometimes I am out of range and other times I just don’t notice it.  I guess I’m used to it after living here for more than 20 years.

However, yesterday I was running in town and heard it ring, loud and clear.  This simple sound stopped me in my tracks.  Ringing out in the early morning dark, the North Church bell sounded like it was coming from another world.  It was pure and seemed to echo over the nearby river.  I stood still and closed my eyes until the last ring.  When I started running again my mind felt clear and my heart felt full.  I know that the ring elicited a memory but I couldn’t for the life of me pinpoint exactly what it was.  And it really didn’t matter.  What mattered was the emotion that followed the sound.

I considered this moment later in the day, remembering the ping I had heard earlier.  We all know that music can remove you from wherever you might be and take you to another time.  But after hearing the random ping and the North Church bell I realized that any sound can do this.  Any sound has the power to not only elicit a memory but also bring back the exact emotion you may have felt when you heard it before.  Like this one.

When I was growing up my Dad was a volunteer firefighter.  He was incredibly proud of this and took every single alarm to be critical, whether it was a false alarm or a house fire.  His suspendered pants and giant boots sat at the foot of his bedroom chair every night – just in case.  And behind his kitchen chair on a shelf made exactly for it, sat a police and fire emergency scanner.  As a young girl, I never understood the importance of all this to him.  My brother and I only knew that the scanner was always on and we either heard the calls coming in or crazy random static all damn day.  It became standard background noise in our house.  Dad listened intently to every single call.  And of course, when it involved a fire, was either jumping up to join the Department or was glued to the scanner until the event was over – just in case he might be needed.  To this day, every time I hear a fire alarm or a police scanner, I think of my Dad and have an incredibly strong emotion – one of great love and pride.

Now that I am an adult and have had many years to contemplate my parents, who they were as humans and how significant their impact on my life has been, I know that being a member of the Fire Department was much more to my Dad than helping to put out fires.  It meant something much bigger to him.  It was part of his lifelong commitment to service, to his community, and to giving back.  I understand that about my Dad now and the simple sound of a police scanner or fire alarm immediately fills me with pride.

I also notice that these sounds bring me a solid sense of comfort and of being protected.  I see now that hearing these sounds revives a feeling I associate with the fierce protection and safety of having my Dad around.  The sound of a fire alarm doesn’t scare me, it fills me with this powerful emotion and sense of safety.  How amazing is that?!

I should say that some sounds elicit powerful emotions that are not so joyful.  For me, the sound of a certain song by Sinead O’Connor brings me right back to the most painful breakup I have ever had.   Although I have long since dealt with that sadness and certainly moved beyond it, the sound of even the first few notes of this song overwhelms me with a sense of loss.  Sounds have such timeless power.  #truth!

In this year of 2018, the magical year of coming alive and living your truth, even a painful emotion felt again in the presence of a mere sound means that you are alive, that you have a past with multifaceted experiences that are all yours to claim.  And this is most definitely something to celebrate.

So, I say listen carefully for all sounds and revel in the emotion that they induce.  Because these simple sounds represent the full life that you have already led.  Just imagine all the sounds you have yet to hear and the connected emotion that will follow you into the life you have yet to live.