Wedded couples are whales in a sea of ceaseless sounds

Whales are mysterious creatures. They move in a sea of total sound. It’s quite interesting that from the moment of its birth until its final hour, day and night, a whale hears an endless orchestra of massive sounds flooding through its senses all the time.

Whales constantly hear sounds, and they constantly make sounds. Silence is a completely unknown thing.

Throughout life, a whale hears the ceaseless snapping and crackling of tiny shrimp and crablike organisms; the grunting and grating; the puffing and booming of a hundred fish; the eerie whining and yelling of dolphins; and the sad voices of sea birds overhead.

Victor B. Scheffer narrates this in his magnificently eye-dripping and fascinating book, The Year of the Whale. There are things we can learn from a whale's life:

Smartly diving deep: When whales seek food, they make the deepest and longest dives, reaching a depth of 1.9 miles. They do so to find the best hunting spots, which are full of deep-sea fish. As a couple, we can get out of our comfort zones to look for opportunities that require us to be go-getters and eager beavers.

Silence is an unknown thing: Like the surroundings of a whale, our world is full of constant noises and distractions. Besides the sea noises, a whale is a complex singer, able to sing complex songs that can be heard miles away.

Imagine! For these incredible creatures, life is noise. Their infrasonic sounds are too low for humans to hear, while their ultrasonic sounds are too high for humans.

Toothed whales are the loudest living creatures on earth, sounding like a taking-off jet; a sperm whale’s 230 dB (decibels) sound can vibrate a person to death.

It’s here that we must be outstandingly intentional, essentially ordering solitude and silence, flying off the high decibels (dB) noises of this life.

Book uninterrupted holidays and breaks with phones off, no television, and just the two of you in silence. There is healing in this. The soul knows how to cure itself; the task is silencing the mind.

Sounds of sad singing birds: When a whale pops up at the surface, it hears the sad voices of the sea birds singing; unfortunately, these birds are on its menu list.

Tell you what? As a couple, don’t eat up the weak, the helpless, and those in agony. Instead, as privileged spouses, hear the sad voices with sympathy.

In this world where survival of the fittest is the rule of the jungle, it’s very easy to beat people out of money and misuse our influence for our own selfish gain. Gather what is enough, and please be fair to others. Intentionally help the fatherless and those in need.

Finally, are you a predator and everyone is on your menu list? Can you heed the sad voices of couples in desperate need of help? Learn to counter the destructive noises of this world. 

Amani Kyala is a counsellor, writer, and teacher, 0626 512 144.