Silence

One of my favourite video-games is Final Fantasy X. I have finished it at least 4 times, I usually pick it up from the beginning every couple of years and relive it all.

Favourite character? Lulu, of course.

I love her magic power, intrigued by magic as a concept in general, and if I could I would love to be able to shoot fireballs or any other elemental magic. But the first spell I would want to be able to cast is Silence.

In the game, enemies (or player characters) afflicted by Silence can't cast magic spells. I guess the inspiration for that spell, from the older Final Fantasy games where it originated (it was called MUTE back then) was that a mage who couldn't speak wouldn't be able to say the words for the spells so they were unable to cast magic at all.

I used to think, back in high school, that I would love to be able to snap my fingers and silence people just like that. I used to hear so many idiotic things being said that I couldn't stand it. I simply wanted to shut some people up.

Eventually I stopped thinking too much about it. I mean, now I usually ignore people like that, I turn the volume in my headphones louder and move on. Or if I think they're being so stupid that something needs to be said, I say it. I don't feel the need to reprieve them of their right to speak up, even if what they say is absolutely stupid. That's just what I think anyway, right?

This past week I wish once again that I could cast Silence though. Not for people so much, but for anything that causes noise. Suddenly my neighbours from upstairs start moving stuff around, my new neighbour next door is loud late at night and to make matters worse, my pc fans start sounding like a steam engine running.

I don't know if it's a coincidence. I can't believe everything was quiet before and started being so noisy now. On the other hand, I have recently started yoga and meditation (which is specifically hard when there's so much distraction) and I can't help but think I might have started becoming more sensitive to noise? And maybe that's a challenge I need to overcome, to become able to block unwanted sounds and focus on what I think is important. That's one of the things meditation is about anyway.




Yes, I know what you think of me, you never shut up...