It's the Summer of Soundwalking

John Cage’s 4’33” is pinned at the top of my playlist, containing no intentional sound of instruments and leaving a space that prompts audiences to notice the ambient sounds we may ignore—breathing, footsteps, wind—the sounds of nature and surroundings.

One summer night, I hit play on this musical piece. While staring at my computer and struggling to finish a research essay, I suddenly heard rain pounding heavily against the window. A seasonal typhoon made landfall in my city. At that moment, the pause in my typing resonated with Cage’s composition, which collided head-on with the curtain of pouring rain that engulfed my senses. I started to notice the flow of the wind and the swaying of the trees that I had unconsciously filtered out. I was pulled out of the tiny cage made of pixels and deadlines.

This reminded me of soundwalking, which isn’t simply about physiological reception but about paying attention and mindfulness to the world around us. Perhaps this is the reason why Professor Hong Wang, who has recently won the Fields Medal, finds peace and inner order while exploring botanical gardens. Rationality allows her to glimpse, in the breath of nature, rhythms that lie beyond mathematical structures.

We often focus our attention inside a few inches of a screen, with countless deadlines around us. However, beyond the screen, the universe continues to turn silently—through storms, plants, and rain. Inspiration lies in every paused breath and in the unspoken roar of all things.

Olivia Yan