Pssssst – do you want to know a secret?

Listen and you can hear all sorts of things - snippets of conversation, the laughter of a child, an owl hooting in the night. Overhear something intended for someone else. Overhear a declaration of love or a detailed account of last night’s conquest. Overhear the disappointment of someone whose lover is letting them down. Hear the heat of anger making voices rise in a crescendo of guttural sound. Hear a question that you don’t want to answer. Hear a whispered conversation between friends about a guilty secret.

Listen to life happening all around you.

Hear half a conversation on a train, while the other half is being played out in a pub or an office or a busy shopping mall. Be driven senseless with anguish when all you can hear is the pss pss tch pss of someone else’s ipod. Try to block out the sound of traffic and the roar of planes.

Listen to my secrets….for many secrets are mine.

What have you heard today that’s made you smile? What sounds make your heart sing? Have you heard the song of a bird, the bark of a dog, the voice of the one you love? Have you heard a small voice singing, the phone ringing, wind whistling through the trees? Have you heard the sounds of love?

Love the rhythm of music – music to lift your spirit and gladden your heart. Hear the pathos of a song of love lost. Be transported with joy by the sounds of Aretha Franklin’s amazing, powerful voice belting out ‘Think’. Fling your arms around in a frenzy to the jumping sound of ska. Feel your stomach churn when ‘they’re playing our song’. Remember the wave of lust when you hear the opening bars of the song that was playing when you had your first kiss. Without hearing, the pure pleasure of music would not exist.

Imagine my utter joy (and this is absolutely true) when, after I posted my story for today, I opened a CD box of a CD I've not played for years and found in the box my precious Big Audio Dynamite album - This is Big Audio Dynamite. I thought I'd lost it and that I'd never see it again. Imagine me now, dancing around the kitchen, Teac on full-blast, singing at the top of my voice.....in the words of the legendary Mick Jones 'I like a bit of a cavort'!!!!!

Hear my voice. It’s full of life. Listen to me while I tell you my story.

Use your ears.

Last year I was listening to the life story of my wonderful friend Barbara....a kind soul and a warm heart.