OPINION:
Over the last year and a half, Covid-19 has swept the world with devastating effects.
We read and hear of repeated lockdowns around the globe and, in the case of Britain, a final return to greater freedom being celebrated as "Freedom Day". Yet some New Zealanders seemed to really enjoy the 2020 level 4 lockdown; maybe because it didn't drag on too long.
One of the aspects of the national lockdown that people reported, and many enjoyed, was the unexpected silence. The busy hum of motors stilled for a time; very few cars; only occasional aeroplanes. In the quietness, people began noticing the sounds of the natural world around them that are so often drowned out by the loudness of humanity and our machines. Suddenly birdsong and insect hums became more noticeable.
When the noise resumed with the end of lockdown, our own mini "Freedom Day", some reported a sense of loss at the end of the quietness; the stillness; the lack of rush; the comparative loudness of those small sounds of nature. Many people found that greater peacefulness very relaxing.