How would this world be different withoutThe Godfather or La Dolce Vita or The Twilight Zone or Death of a Salesman or Swan Lake or Waiting for Godot or New York’s Flatiron Building or India’s Taj Mahal or Rodin’s The Thinker or Van Gogh’s The Starry Night or the Mona Lisa or Hamlet or One Hundred Years of Solitude or Romeo and Juliet or Coltrane’s A Love Supreme or Miles’ Kind of Blue or The Beatles’ “Something” or Satie’s “Gymnopedie #1” or “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” or—I don’t know—countless other works of art that make the world a beautiful place to be?
So hard to list just a few. It’s a question that got me thinking.
I occasionally engage in a thought experiment about my senses. It’s a macabre game: Would I rather lose my eyesight, my hearing, my sense of smell, my taste or my touch? Put another way, what sensation would I particularly miss that gives so much pleasure, that makes life so much richer?
All this leads me to wonder about the art forms I love and how much their storytelling enriches my world. Diving into a film or television series that transports me somewhere new. Digging deep into a piece of literature that expands my imagination. Reveling in the beauty of a painting or sculpture or dance that captures something or someone or somewhere so profoundly that I see life with new eyes. Devouring a meal that is artfully made and leaves me utterly satisfied. Gazing on great architecture that fills me with the insight of man’s capacity to build on an epic scale. Swimming in the aural landscapes of music that transform space and time and touch my deepest emotions.
As much as I might fear the idea of losing my sight, I could still carry the memories of what I saw. As much as I value a good meal, food does not rule my life; I’d find a way to live without tasting and smelling, poorer though I’d be. But to never again be swept away by music I love? To never experience the joy and total contentment that comes from listening? To not change my mood in a heartbeat by hearing the work of a composer who strung together individual notes and sounds and produced a whole world? I’m not sure I could live without music.
But that’s just me. What about you? What art form can’t you live without? And are there particular works that you love the most? I started a list at the beginning here, but I’m sure you can expand and enrich this collection for us all to savor.
As always, I look forward to reading your observations and the chance for this community to learn from each other. Please do be respectful, even if you disagree.
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*Photo: Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot on stage at the 2018 Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland. Photo by Roberto Ricciuti via Getty Images.
I have a good friend who lost her sight a number of years ago due to glaucoma. Hasn't stopped her from writing five more books and producing one of her plays in New York. She has Dragon and Alexa, and can listen to her family around her, staying in touch with the world. As much as I revel in watching the magnificence of a Tucson sunset, strolling through the Museum of Art or seeing Linda McCartney's photography retrospective at the University of Arizona, I could live without sight. I cannot imagine total silence: no sweet baby giggles or Yo-Yo Ma cello etudes or sing-a-longs to Elton or banging the steering wheel to the drums of In The Air Tonight or the melancholy coos of mourning doves... I would lose my sanity to darkness.
Greetings from Okla. You have captured a game I have been playing since a child. Sometimes thinking which 2 senses would I trade for my 1 essential (sound-music). You did not mention it in a separate aspect but I have used this “game” to help with empathy with my grandchildren. Thank you for your thoughts & views. From a lonely blue dot 🔵 in Okla.
The sound of the wind in the leaves now or screaming in winter. Birds at the feeders and song in the woods. The color shift from green to red and gold and rust. The crunch of boots on snow. As I write the sound and smell of rain. And the absolute silence of the night.
I have a friend who has diabetic retinopathy, and she tells me all the time to be grateful for my gift of site. I am. However, I inherited my hearing loss from mom’s side, and I am so grateful for my Bluetooth enabled hearing aids. I call myself Songgirl, because I don’t know how I’d be able to live without music.
Oct 7, 2023·edited Oct 7, 2023Liked by Steven Beschloss
I love almost all art. And I love food. For me, Bernini's sculptures take my breath away. And Artemisia Gentileschi's beheading of Holosfernes is one of the most powerful paintings I have seen - done by the only woman whose painting hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. I love architecture. I live in a city with everything from Romanesque to Brutalism. I love the idea that when baroque came along, people thought that it was "gauche" - until the next style came along which was also, then, duly rejected. Our "Municipal House" in Prague is an amazing Art Nouveau/Art Deco building that the city wanted to tear down because it was too eclectic and seen as too "industrial." Thank god they didn't. And now, as new buildings are challenging our senses, people are also indignant that they are not appropriate. Art challenges us to think differently. Even dill pickles on pizza. It challenges me to always think that what I have known up to this point of my life is not the only way that things may be. And I find this the most significant contibution of art to my life.
Life, with its myriad of experiences, often feels like a painting where sound adds color and texture. Most people experience this auditory canvas in much the same way, but for me, it's a bit different. You see, a quirk in my genetics has made certain sounds beautifully clear, while others come across as distorted or muffled. It's a bit like tuning into different radio stations and catching some in perfect clarity, while others are lost in static.
Have you ever listened to a favorite song and then suddenly, out of nowhere, heard it play differently? That's a bit of my daily experience. One moment, I'm basking in the clear chirps of birds or the laughter of friends, and the next, certain sounds seem to play tricks on me, becoming a little harder to grasp.
This unpredictable soundtrack of my life can be challenging. Imagine walking through a familiar room but suddenly finding the furniture rearranged. That's how conversations and familiar melodies can feel sometimes. But you know what? There's a silver lining. This ever-changing soundscape has made me adaptable and attuned to nuances many might overlook. I've learned to appreciate the subtle cues—the gentle rustling of leaves, the unspoken emotions in someone's eyes, and the rhythms that life offers beyond sound.
And here's an interesting twist: I think this unique way I hear the world has influenced my poetry. It's as if the dance between clear and distorted sounds has given me a fresh perspective, allowing me to play with words, rhythms, and styles in ways I might not have otherwise discovered. It's a double-edged sword, of course—a mix of challenges and blessings—but it adds depth and flavor to my poetic voice.
So, as I continue to explore this ever-shifting world of sound and channel it into my poetry, I remain hopeful and grateful. Every sound, whether crisp or unclear, is a note in the rich symphony of my life. And each one, in its own way, contributes to the stories I tell and the poems I pen.
Someone once described me by saying: "You didn't choose music. Music chose you."
I asked my parents for a piano for my fourth birthday present. I was a child prodigy having been accepted to Julliard at age 11 (my parents chose not to send me) and have been playing the piano now for almost 66 years.
Music is such a huge part of me. Music has been my joy and my profession for which I am eternally grateful. Most importantly: music has been my constant companion all these years - my emotional outlet. It's hard to imagine no music in my life.
Yet, as I write this I am forced to contemplate that very thing.
By the luck of the draw and being of Norwegian descent, I have contracted Dupurtryn's Contracture. It is become so pronounced that I can no longer play. And, even though the procedure I have scheduled for the end of the month promises relief there is no guarantee I will ever be able to play my beloved Chopin waltzes, etudes and ballades again. So, your question is all too real for me.
As I contemplate life without the piano I am in uncharted territory. I vacillate between terror and resignation... though I do have moments of clarity and acceptance.
I suspect my artistic spirit will find new avenues of expression and my music-making will have to shift from being an active participant to becoming a passive observer.
Sorry to post twice, guess I had more to say. Mobility, smell and hearing have left me. The ability to taste the subtitles of a divine sauce, gone. Sight, good enough. Thank God touch, and people who hug me, is alive and well. I have an enormous portfolio of appreciated sunsets and music in my head I tap into any time I want them. So, it is expression, the ability to speak and write that makes life meaningful to me.
Jefferson's words are above my book shelves: I cannot live without books. I have 5 cases and need a couple more as the stacks on top are getting tall. I like a good thriller, presently a popular topic, but I get them at the library. They are not keepers.Some favorites are The Coldest Winter (Halberstam), The Splendid & the Vile (Larson),The Four Winds (Hannah), A Gentleman in Moscow (Towles), and one I am reading now, The Fear & the Freedom (Lowe). I am trying to get a book on every president. Even have one on Harding ! trump? Just Bolton's. So eyesight, which also brings up movies. My favorite, watch it every time, know all the lines : My Cousin Vinny. Love it. Love the NY accents. A fellow I sort of know always says to me , "HowyaDOin' " I lived in "Joisey" for over 20 years but growing up in PA (saying pop), I never picked up the accent, but my son, still there ,did, i.e. coll for call. All more music to the ear than this southern y'all stuff. And of course, must include the book and the movie - To Kill a Mockingbird.
Musically, my father always listened to classical music, and I took a course in it in college-had to go alone to a room, listen to pieces and learn to identify each instrument that was playing. But...... give me the blues and jazz-Buddy Guy, Herbie Hancock, Etta James, Eric Clapton,Ramsey Lewis,Dave Brubeck.So people always astounded that I like AC/DC !! Highway to Hell-that's Interstate 95 going to Florida in July !
I am likewise not into food except Coke Zero and Hershey milk chocolate nuggets. Made a special trip to Walmart just to get the candy yesterday. Hate chicken-dad raised them once-yuck. Would eat tree bark before shrimp. Always order meatloaf - classy me !!
Touch would be my dad's "used to" arm around my shoulders, holding my mother's arm while we sat together, hugs from my children.
And, oh yes, flowers. I think God's best creation after humans was a flower.
@StevenBeschloss, thank you for giving me an easy, happy question on this dreary rainy day in NJ. However, I have to give you 2 answers because I have 2 equally favorite art forms, about which I am extremely passionate. I love Impressionism and Modern Art. MoMA is my happy place. My first stop at MoMA, regardless of the special exhibit, or my other beloved paintings and sculptures, is the Water Lilies room. I take a video around the room every time I go there. I also take lots of still pictures; and, of course, I take selfies of me in front of portions of the Water Lilies. After spending some time on the benches in that room I explore other Monet paintings and then the other 5th floor Impressionism paintings and sculptures I love, in no particular order, by Matisse, Van Gogh, Picasso, Chagall, Brancusi, Pollack. This past summer, after a postponement of 3 years because of the pandemic, I lived my dream and took my vacation to Paris, with a Seine River Cruise to Giverny, Rouen and Normandy. My initial focus was, of course, Giverny. However, over the time spent planning and studying for this trip, I learned so much about Rouen and Normandy; and those places became very important to me and the experiences of visiting each of them was incredible. However, when I stepped off the bus onto the ground of Giverny I was overwhelmed with pure joy. I had read so much about Monet and Giverny; and I had studied so much about Monet and Giverny. However, being there was being in a place that was larger than life. Our tour group walked through gardens and garden and gardens of incredible flowers. Then all of a sudden I was there, standing just a few feet from the Water Lilies Pond and the Japanese Bridge. This was such an emotional experience for me. I stood there for as long as I could, even as my tour group moved on to other parts of the Giverny Estate. Then there I was at Monet's home. I walked slowly through each of the rooms, savoring every moment. Of course I took as many photos as I could, including selfies of me inside and outside of Monet's home. The tour finished t what is now the gift shop, but was originally the studio Monet built for himself as a studio so he could paint the Water Lilies and the Japanese Bridge and the flowers in his many gardens. That afternoon at Giverny was probably the most magnificent afternoon I have ever had. My other passionate art form is music. I am a member of Tanglewood; and I go to the Berkshires for 1 or 2 weeks every summer, always planning my weeks around the Tanglewood schedule, and taking in The Clark (art museum), and other great museums non that region. I call Tanglewood the greatest music venue in the world. I have seen James Taylor there; but it was a number of years ago. So, I might see his annual July 4th concert again next summer. Otherwise my Tanglewood time is divided among the BSO, the Boston Pops, John Williams' Film Night (and I was there for his 90th birthday celebration in 2022, probably the greatest Tanglewood event ever). This past summer I went to Tanglewood on Parade which I hadn't attended in several years. For this winter I am planning a trip to Boston. Boston in the winter could be very cold, with bad weather. However, although I have seen lots of wonderful sites in Boston over the years (mostly post-grad school many years ago, when I was dating someone who went to MIT for his PhD), I have never been to Symphony Hall. I have tickets for a Ravel/Stravinsky Concert in January; and I am so excited. Also, on casual Fridays, as they call their Friday afternoon concerts, they give 30-minute tours of Symphony Hall before the concerts. That is all on my schedule. In addition I have never been to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. That is a must-see for me. Wherever I travel I must go to the signature music and art venues. Thank you for the opportunity to share my art and music passions with you and this wonderful group of America America people.
Sight is everything to me. And "art"....well, the ultimate artistic experience is Nature Herself. Nothing manmade IMO, even though so much art tries to express what Nature just IS. I imagine I am in a sort of class by myself here!
I have a friend going blind. He is understandingly upset, frightened and depressed. Yet he has many fine abilities to be creative and I hope he can find his way to that side of him after he loses his sight. I experienced a year and 1/2 of the inability to taste and smell from a bout of covid in 2020 before the vaccines. It was pretty bad for a foodie but I stumbled through. My youngest son has never had the ability to smell and neither did his great grandmother. As a fine artist and sometime poet and writer, I have had moments(ok years) where the creative muse disappeared for long periods of time. This is not a new thing for most creatives. I am on the tail end of that after 3+ years of no artmaking. If it weren't for the creative people from the past and now that I follow, I think I would not have the urge to create again. I don't play the game of imagining the loss of a sense. It has no worth for me. What I try to practice is the thought processes I have developed over decades to keep myself thinking as a creative, seeing as an artist, noticing the fabulous world around me, giving in to the tingling of an idea, allowing other's creativity in music, art, dance, and literature to move me. As a free willed person with a rather bohemian lifestyle I am not unaware that any minute one or more of my senses and abilities can go away. It is something I am pretty confident I can deal with if and when it comes. At 70 I have learned to roll with the punches. Nothing is a given. I do not borrow trouble either. There is my full complement of cliches!
I have a genetic disease that means I have been losing all senses since the day I was conceived. Slowly, at different rates.
I was born “severely” Deaf, that ebbed to “profoundly” Deaf by my 20s. I can’t hear anything at all now with my ears. My favorite composer is Gustav Mahler. My favorite piece is Das Lied von der Erde. I also love Garbage, my favorite song of theirs is “#1 Crush”, the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and a little of everything.
I used to play the piano. My favorite instrument is the harpsichord. I love the tactile joy that is the two step sound of every note, the pluck thud sound. It is amazing and it is precious. I absolutely love listening to Bach being played on the harpsichord.
To be Deaf is not to be insensate. Yes, I have the noise memories from my past. But that is the very least of it. I can feel things with my body, which is one thing hearing people seem to never realize is a thing. It doesn’t go away when you hear less with your ears. I know things around the house to an extent hearing people never could. Because I experience the world differently. It isn’t silence. I am not floating in nothingness. I am also decidedly not straining for inputs.
How I experience the world is just me. Every Deaf person is different. I’ve always been Deaf. And aware. And Deaf are never ever insensate or oblivious to their environment. We may not know the exact words used, but we know the moods and behaviors the of people around us, and we are not impervious
The same genetic disease is taking away my ability to see. I can’t see motion very well. I’ve always watched things with captions or subtitles for my ears and they are doubly helpful for giving me more time with the dialogue, when I hit pause. My favorite movie always and forever is Shawshank Redemption. I also love The Princess Bride and the Matrix series. I am still captivated by Baz Luhrnann’s Romeo and Juliet. I adore Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.
More recently, I was captivated by the Dark series on Netflix. The Man in the High Castle on Amazon Prime was amazing and multipronged and recursive. I am currently enjoying Outlander on Starz and Strange New Worlds on Paramount+ and going through the Star Wars movies in order on Disney+ with my family.
I can’t identify tastes or smells, but I enjoy them nonetheless, and my family has fun making combinations for me to experience and it’s always an adventure. I don’t mind at all not being able to identify. I can feel the joys and that is a whole lot.
I have advancing neuropathy in my hands and feet, and so can’t feel as much. That doesn’t mean no feels. It means different feels. Different experiences.
So not a thought experiment, losing senses for me. My lived daily reality. I hope this gives some insight.
My eyes are the delight my imagination needs every day. I could watch documentaries and movies with subtitles, just as I do with foreign films. But, I would miss the wonder of a full moon that follows me on my evening walks, the constellations that now I know is just a small part of the universal puzzle, the green leaves that signal life is abundant, the sight of dogs frolicking freely, the sight of a waterfall plenishing the earth while being simply beautiful, the eyes of my grandchildren. Oh, so many delights to see and explore. My eyes are my treasure.
While visual art is inspiring, having ARMD, macular degeneration but still dry, I know some day...
So my choice today is auditory- happy songs I learned in Sunday school still reverberate, Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water; protest songs of the 60/70s, marching band - by John Phillps Sousa, spirituals. early folk: PPM, Neil Diamond; drum of Jamaica. Then there are the composers, some by Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, Chopin and nature sounds; on it goes. I am grateful I can still read; sorry books of childhood now on a banned list; some places; do not know what they are missing. I best stop and turn on some music. Appreciate you asking.
BTW - not about your question today but has anyone given thought that Putin, through Iran and Hamas is behind the Israeli attack to draw American aid away from Ukraine??? Topic at lunch today.
As much as I'd hate to lose my sight, I have to vote with you that it would be much, much worse to never hear music again. I couldn't live without music! Imagine never being able to hear "Imagine" again, or "Here, There, and Everywhere" or "Yesterday". The thought is so abhorrent to me it's difficult to explain. On the other hand, I couldn't imagine a world without being able to watch a movie, or enjoy a gorgeous sunset, or see the ocean in all its power and majesty, or do even simple things like driving a car. So it would be a very difficult choice, but I still have to go with being unable to live without music.
Steven, I’m in nearly furious agreement with your prioritization of the senses I’d least like to lose, but would underscore one that you briefly mentioned at the top of your piece; specifically the sense of memory.
“Was it real, or was it Memorex?”
I’d like never to lose the instant replay of: A grandchild finally staying right-side up on her bicycle; A pissed off tarpon launching into a Key Largo sunrise with the hook of my fly in its mouth; Melissa Etheridge and Bruce magically singing ‘Thunder Road’ together; the scent of a bowl of Emeril’s seafood gumbo placed before me (OMG!); my wife of 50 years saying, “I do”, and a thousand other things.
My guess… I’d use “sense” but it’s already been used :-) is that there comes a time when, for most of us, those memories are about the only cards we’ve got left to play, as our other faculties take their leave. Having watched a parent die (slowly) from the ravages of Alzheimer's, nearly killing her caregiver in the process, my sincere hope is that the good folks at Pfizer and other pharma researchers will prevail, and deal this scourge its exit, sooner rather than later. Given the chance to assist them, or, more probably someone who today IS a caregiver, let’s each get in the game.
A year ago I had Covid and I have lost my sense of smell and taste. Life is so awkward without that. I can’t smell flowers or my favorite white flower perfume. Eating is an appreciation of texture , but no taste. I think that’s as far as I want to go in losing some sense but grateful it’s not anything major. I love so much and have lost just a little . My grandson is deaf since birth but he has learned to sign and he communicates beautifully . I look at him and think he has not lost a sense but grown beautifully without it. Everything is so important “loss” is the key word. It is just that , it would make you a different person.
Whether it be a beautiful mountain range, puffy clouds passing overhead, a majestic forest or a junkyard covered with a blanket of fresh snow, listening to Beethoven while consuming this beauty inspires my inner soul. Nature has the ability to heal the most despicable things man has thrown at it - just look at Chernobyl or the battle fields of WWI. Beethoven lost his hearing at very young age, and yet, he created this magical music that can be so simple, complex, beautiful brash and healing. Nature and “music” Beethoven provides me the strength for healing my soul.
As a museum curator, I'd have to argue for the visual arts. There are things I would feel so diminished without having seen. However, music trumps even the visual arts for me. Things I couldn't do without: the Sistine Chapel ceiling; Bach's St. Matthew's Passion; Fred Astaire; Cole Porter; the Acropolis sculptures (Elgin Marbles); most of Monet's paintings; Chartres Cathedral; all media of Rembrandt; Leonardo's early drapery studies. On a smaller--but very immediate--scale: a sliced ripe tomato sandwich on lightly toasted Italian bread, topped with salt and good olive oil. Heaven.
My grandmother and I used to have this discussion. I was a young adult at the time and said I’d hate to lose my hearing. Grandma said she’d hate to lose her sight. She had cataracts and had surgery, but her sight was never quite the same. She used her eyes for so much - sewing, cooking and reading. She was surrounded by books, though she also loved music. Audio books became part of her life. As I’ve aged, I’m not quite as sure. I can’t imagine losing my sight, mostly because I’d lose so much independence. I wouldn’t be able to drive! That thought scares the bejeebers out of me. I love to read but I could (and do on occasion) listen to books, though I love the feel of a book or magazine or newspaper in my hand. I love music and can’t imagine not being able to hear it. Or being able to hear the voices of my loved ones. Or the sound of waves breaking on the beach. Or the sound of the frog fountain in our pond or the birds that nest in the many birdhouses in our backyard or the night noises in the garden in summer. So, good question Steven. 😊
Beautiful, we need it all! Thank you for your keen observations and honest questions, there is beauty and creativity all around us!
In literature, great works of art , magnificent Sculpture, Buildings and never forget the beauty in the world we live, the Oceans, the Mountains, the Desert, it’s structures, the creatures. Travel if you can and explore! If you can’t, read about different people, their cultures and theirs lives, it fascinating!
I was lucky I grew up in a Military Family, I not only traveled this great Country but I lived in many different States, I have also explored the shore of Tripoli where I lived, as well as England, Germany, landed in a Island of Portugal, several times. It started with a love of literature, art and spirit of adventure! Trust me, the World is full of both Creative and Natural Beauty. The travel in the beginning was courtesy of my Father and Mother.
i'm a painter & photographer, but as you say, mary, i can hold those images in my mind forever, i could not live without sound very comfortably, the sound of voices, & of music.. the main music i seem to require is radiohead, although the late elliott smith & long lost nick drake follow right after..
Try imaging having anhedonia. I had a right frontal lobe brain tumor that was removed in 2017. Since then my anhedonia has created such a loss in my life. Those things you talk of rarely penetrate this shield of my exsistence. To experience even love is difficult. It is rare but I do get glimmers. Daily I search for them.
I’m 65 years old and for the past 50 years I have listened to my favorite artists, David Bowie and Todd Rundgren. I couldn’t imagine living without their beautiful voices and lyrics. It would break my heart, tear apart my spirit.Take away my smell or touch, please leave my hearing alone 💔
I too would keep hearing. I have sung, played and danced to music. It triggers powerful memories, enables me to dance joyfully, and I remember any words set to music.
All this sounds like garden variety hyper-competitive American materialism. I don't care about how special you think you are about your materialist privileging. Not interested in your bragging! Get over yourselves. Imagination is the greatest sense. And everybody has it, so stop your exclusivist posturing.
I am so visual and hand-eye coordination came so early to me as a child. I’m a visual learner and I would sort of play that same game, asking myself what I would do if I couldn’t see to paint or draw or write words on paper. It would send a shudder through me each time the thought came up. I make a living from my visual skills. But more than that, I would so miss an Arizona sky, a Van Gogh’s thick and juicy painted surface, looking into the eyes of a loved one to “hear” the unspoken, the ability to read words on a page and sit with the type and typeface for a moment, if I lost my sight. I am nearsighted, and have had glasses since the 4th grade, and readers at 35. But I treasure my sight. I’ve lost some hearing in my left ear, but often take my hearing aid out to lessen the sharp and unwanted noises. Lol! I value my hearing but not with the same intensity as sight. I don’t want to play the “game” anymore. It’s just too scary to think about now that I am in my 60s. ...having said that, I love your Sunday questions and taking time to ponder, Stephen. Thank you! 💜🧐
Hearing is my choice as well. My soul would be destroyed if I could no longer awaken to the beautiful bird songs and avian communications going on about me. Without the scores of Howard Shore, Lisa Gerrard and so many fascinating composers to bring us deeper into the story in films would render me lifeless. I would miss so many gorgeous albums of Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Air, early Genesis, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Florence and the Machine, and countless others...To simply gaze at album covers would never be enough.
Thank you, Steven Beschloss, for all you do and have done for this great nation. I am happy to be able to count myself among your tribe.
Thank you for asking this thought-provoking question! I’ve recently been dx’d with early stage macular degeneration and the fear of eventually losing my vision makes me take in all the beauty that surrounds me on a daily basis so I can tuck it away for myself “in case”. This also got me to thinking about how much I love and appreciate all my other sensory perceptions and take them for granted.
If I had to sacrifice one, it would be my sixth sense. The one that carries wondrous gifts and can also chill me to the bone with things I would rather not see.
Tough question.... though my life is the visual arts ... music would be what I would miss.. I was at the Lyric Opera on Wednesday and read now they have "sound shirts" to wear for the hearing impaired ... I choked up when I read that & realized the massive range of emotions the gift of music embraces...
Not sure if my comment made it, computer issues, so I am writing it again - I would keep sound for sure, so much involved in sound - music, poetry, theater, movies (you can still hear the dialogue in both). I have always had bad eyesight but used to think about how awful it would be to lose it, but I agree Sound is so much more fulfilling for me. I love your essays, I am so glad I found them. Thanks
As I read this the thought came to mind; Where would I be without my faith in the Supreme Being of my choice? Especially as the arts of music and the spoken word are so intrinsically entwined with worship?
I like music best. I used to play and sing, and I often listen to some of my favorite music. My taste ranges from Louis Armstrong to Bach. I think I'll listen to some now. Thanks for the reminder.
I too have thought about this question over the years. I couldn't live without hearing. I need to read, but someone could read to me. I cannot imagine a life without sound... The nuance of a voice that says much more than the written word; the sound of birds in the early morning; thunder and rain, howling wind and pounding surf; and of course, Music. I vacuum to Bach's 5th Brandenburg Concerto which fills me with joy while I do a least-favorite task. I think I would probably just die without music. I cannot imagine my life without it.
I’m already quite deaf, with only 50% clarity, I miss music & conversations that don’t have to be constantly repeated. Now I’m having cataract surgery and I can’t imagine being blind, blind and deaf. As much as I still love the solitude that would be over the top.
I have a good friend who lost her sight a number of years ago due to glaucoma. Hasn't stopped her from writing five more books and producing one of her plays in New York. She has Dragon and Alexa, and can listen to her family around her, staying in touch with the world. As much as I revel in watching the magnificence of a Tucson sunset, strolling through the Museum of Art or seeing Linda McCartney's photography retrospective at the University of Arizona, I could live without sight. I cannot imagine total silence: no sweet baby giggles or Yo-Yo Ma cello etudes or sing-a-longs to Elton or banging the steering wheel to the drums of In The Air Tonight or the melancholy coos of mourning doves... I would lose my sanity to darkness.
Greetings from Okla. You have captured a game I have been playing since a child. Sometimes thinking which 2 senses would I trade for my 1 essential (sound-music). You did not mention it in a separate aspect but I have used this “game” to help with empathy with my grandchildren. Thank you for your thoughts & views. From a lonely blue dot 🔵 in Okla.
The sound of the wind in the leaves now or screaming in winter. Birds at the feeders and song in the woods. The color shift from green to red and gold and rust. The crunch of boots on snow. As I write the sound and smell of rain. And the absolute silence of the night.
Eulogy for Charlie, a Teacher
Our minds—peaches he scalded in a water-bath
of generous dialogue, slipped off the fuzzy skin,
cut away the sweet flesh of illusion,
cracked open the pit with a hammer of caring,
exposing the bitter kernel of each person’s truth.
He called us Prometheus—asked us to reach into
the fire of what we and the world could be,
as he challenged our complacent spirits
with the ferocity of a meaning-ful life.
His absence—a hurricane wind,
so immense I’m caught in its center, trying
to hang images on the eyewall, motionless.
I have a friend who has diabetic retinopathy, and she tells me all the time to be grateful for my gift of site. I am. However, I inherited my hearing loss from mom’s side, and I am so grateful for my Bluetooth enabled hearing aids. I call myself Songgirl, because I don’t know how I’d be able to live without music.
I love almost all art. And I love food. For me, Bernini's sculptures take my breath away. And Artemisia Gentileschi's beheading of Holosfernes is one of the most powerful paintings I have seen - done by the only woman whose painting hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. I love architecture. I live in a city with everything from Romanesque to Brutalism. I love the idea that when baroque came along, people thought that it was "gauche" - until the next style came along which was also, then, duly rejected. Our "Municipal House" in Prague is an amazing Art Nouveau/Art Deco building that the city wanted to tear down because it was too eclectic and seen as too "industrial." Thank god they didn't. And now, as new buildings are challenging our senses, people are also indignant that they are not appropriate. Art challenges us to think differently. Even dill pickles on pizza. It challenges me to always think that what I have known up to this point of my life is not the only way that things may be. And I find this the most significant contibution of art to my life.
Sounds of Silence
Life, with its myriad of experiences, often feels like a painting where sound adds color and texture. Most people experience this auditory canvas in much the same way, but for me, it's a bit different. You see, a quirk in my genetics has made certain sounds beautifully clear, while others come across as distorted or muffled. It's a bit like tuning into different radio stations and catching some in perfect clarity, while others are lost in static.
Have you ever listened to a favorite song and then suddenly, out of nowhere, heard it play differently? That's a bit of my daily experience. One moment, I'm basking in the clear chirps of birds or the laughter of friends, and the next, certain sounds seem to play tricks on me, becoming a little harder to grasp.
This unpredictable soundtrack of my life can be challenging. Imagine walking through a familiar room but suddenly finding the furniture rearranged. That's how conversations and familiar melodies can feel sometimes. But you know what? There's a silver lining. This ever-changing soundscape has made me adaptable and attuned to nuances many might overlook. I've learned to appreciate the subtle cues—the gentle rustling of leaves, the unspoken emotions in someone's eyes, and the rhythms that life offers beyond sound.
And here's an interesting twist: I think this unique way I hear the world has influenced my poetry. It's as if the dance between clear and distorted sounds has given me a fresh perspective, allowing me to play with words, rhythms, and styles in ways I might not have otherwise discovered. It's a double-edged sword, of course—a mix of challenges and blessings—but it adds depth and flavor to my poetic voice.
So, as I continue to explore this ever-shifting world of sound and channel it into my poetry, I remain hopeful and grateful. Every sound, whether crisp or unclear, is a note in the rich symphony of my life. And each one, in its own way, contributes to the stories I tell and the poems I pen.
Someone once described me by saying: "You didn't choose music. Music chose you."
I asked my parents for a piano for my fourth birthday present. I was a child prodigy having been accepted to Julliard at age 11 (my parents chose not to send me) and have been playing the piano now for almost 66 years.
Music is such a huge part of me. Music has been my joy and my profession for which I am eternally grateful. Most importantly: music has been my constant companion all these years - my emotional outlet. It's hard to imagine no music in my life.
Yet, as I write this I am forced to contemplate that very thing.
By the luck of the draw and being of Norwegian descent, I have contracted Dupurtryn's Contracture. It is become so pronounced that I can no longer play. And, even though the procedure I have scheduled for the end of the month promises relief there is no guarantee I will ever be able to play my beloved Chopin waltzes, etudes and ballades again. So, your question is all too real for me.
As I contemplate life without the piano I am in uncharted territory. I vacillate between terror and resignation... though I do have moments of clarity and acceptance.
I suspect my artistic spirit will find new avenues of expression and my music-making will have to shift from being an active participant to becoming a passive observer.
Wish me luck.
Life always throws us curveballs doesn't it?
Sorry to post twice, guess I had more to say. Mobility, smell and hearing have left me. The ability to taste the subtitles of a divine sauce, gone. Sight, good enough. Thank God touch, and people who hug me, is alive and well. I have an enormous portfolio of appreciated sunsets and music in my head I tap into any time I want them. So, it is expression, the ability to speak and write that makes life meaningful to me.
Jefferson's words are above my book shelves: I cannot live without books. I have 5 cases and need a couple more as the stacks on top are getting tall. I like a good thriller, presently a popular topic, but I get them at the library. They are not keepers.Some favorites are The Coldest Winter (Halberstam), The Splendid & the Vile (Larson),The Four Winds (Hannah), A Gentleman in Moscow (Towles), and one I am reading now, The Fear & the Freedom (Lowe). I am trying to get a book on every president. Even have one on Harding ! trump? Just Bolton's. So eyesight, which also brings up movies. My favorite, watch it every time, know all the lines : My Cousin Vinny. Love it. Love the NY accents. A fellow I sort of know always says to me , "HowyaDOin' " I lived in "Joisey" for over 20 years but growing up in PA (saying pop), I never picked up the accent, but my son, still there ,did, i.e. coll for call. All more music to the ear than this southern y'all stuff. And of course, must include the book and the movie - To Kill a Mockingbird.
Musically, my father always listened to classical music, and I took a course in it in college-had to go alone to a room, listen to pieces and learn to identify each instrument that was playing. But...... give me the blues and jazz-Buddy Guy, Herbie Hancock, Etta James, Eric Clapton,Ramsey Lewis,Dave Brubeck.So people always astounded that I like AC/DC !! Highway to Hell-that's Interstate 95 going to Florida in July !
I am likewise not into food except Coke Zero and Hershey milk chocolate nuggets. Made a special trip to Walmart just to get the candy yesterday. Hate chicken-dad raised them once-yuck. Would eat tree bark before shrimp. Always order meatloaf - classy me !!
Touch would be my dad's "used to" arm around my shoulders, holding my mother's arm while we sat together, hugs from my children.
And, oh yes, flowers. I think God's best creation after humans was a flower.
Enough about me.
@StevenBeschloss, thank you for giving me an easy, happy question on this dreary rainy day in NJ. However, I have to give you 2 answers because I have 2 equally favorite art forms, about which I am extremely passionate. I love Impressionism and Modern Art. MoMA is my happy place. My first stop at MoMA, regardless of the special exhibit, or my other beloved paintings and sculptures, is the Water Lilies room. I take a video around the room every time I go there. I also take lots of still pictures; and, of course, I take selfies of me in front of portions of the Water Lilies. After spending some time on the benches in that room I explore other Monet paintings and then the other 5th floor Impressionism paintings and sculptures I love, in no particular order, by Matisse, Van Gogh, Picasso, Chagall, Brancusi, Pollack. This past summer, after a postponement of 3 years because of the pandemic, I lived my dream and took my vacation to Paris, with a Seine River Cruise to Giverny, Rouen and Normandy. My initial focus was, of course, Giverny. However, over the time spent planning and studying for this trip, I learned so much about Rouen and Normandy; and those places became very important to me and the experiences of visiting each of them was incredible. However, when I stepped off the bus onto the ground of Giverny I was overwhelmed with pure joy. I had read so much about Monet and Giverny; and I had studied so much about Monet and Giverny. However, being there was being in a place that was larger than life. Our tour group walked through gardens and garden and gardens of incredible flowers. Then all of a sudden I was there, standing just a few feet from the Water Lilies Pond and the Japanese Bridge. This was such an emotional experience for me. I stood there for as long as I could, even as my tour group moved on to other parts of the Giverny Estate. Then there I was at Monet's home. I walked slowly through each of the rooms, savoring every moment. Of course I took as many photos as I could, including selfies of me inside and outside of Monet's home. The tour finished t what is now the gift shop, but was originally the studio Monet built for himself as a studio so he could paint the Water Lilies and the Japanese Bridge and the flowers in his many gardens. That afternoon at Giverny was probably the most magnificent afternoon I have ever had. My other passionate art form is music. I am a member of Tanglewood; and I go to the Berkshires for 1 or 2 weeks every summer, always planning my weeks around the Tanglewood schedule, and taking in The Clark (art museum), and other great museums non that region. I call Tanglewood the greatest music venue in the world. I have seen James Taylor there; but it was a number of years ago. So, I might see his annual July 4th concert again next summer. Otherwise my Tanglewood time is divided among the BSO, the Boston Pops, John Williams' Film Night (and I was there for his 90th birthday celebration in 2022, probably the greatest Tanglewood event ever). This past summer I went to Tanglewood on Parade which I hadn't attended in several years. For this winter I am planning a trip to Boston. Boston in the winter could be very cold, with bad weather. However, although I have seen lots of wonderful sites in Boston over the years (mostly post-grad school many years ago, when I was dating someone who went to MIT for his PhD), I have never been to Symphony Hall. I have tickets for a Ravel/Stravinsky Concert in January; and I am so excited. Also, on casual Fridays, as they call their Friday afternoon concerts, they give 30-minute tours of Symphony Hall before the concerts. That is all on my schedule. In addition I have never been to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. That is a must-see for me. Wherever I travel I must go to the signature music and art venues. Thank you for the opportunity to share my art and music passions with you and this wonderful group of America America people.
Sight is everything to me. And "art"....well, the ultimate artistic experience is Nature Herself. Nothing manmade IMO, even though so much art tries to express what Nature just IS. I imagine I am in a sort of class by myself here!
Music.
I have a friend going blind. He is understandingly upset, frightened and depressed. Yet he has many fine abilities to be creative and I hope he can find his way to that side of him after he loses his sight. I experienced a year and 1/2 of the inability to taste and smell from a bout of covid in 2020 before the vaccines. It was pretty bad for a foodie but I stumbled through. My youngest son has never had the ability to smell and neither did his great grandmother. As a fine artist and sometime poet and writer, I have had moments(ok years) where the creative muse disappeared for long periods of time. This is not a new thing for most creatives. I am on the tail end of that after 3+ years of no artmaking. If it weren't for the creative people from the past and now that I follow, I think I would not have the urge to create again. I don't play the game of imagining the loss of a sense. It has no worth for me. What I try to practice is the thought processes I have developed over decades to keep myself thinking as a creative, seeing as an artist, noticing the fabulous world around me, giving in to the tingling of an idea, allowing other's creativity in music, art, dance, and literature to move me. As a free willed person with a rather bohemian lifestyle I am not unaware that any minute one or more of my senses and abilities can go away. It is something I am pretty confident I can deal with if and when it comes. At 70 I have learned to roll with the punches. Nothing is a given. I do not borrow trouble either. There is my full complement of cliches!
I have a genetic disease that means I have been losing all senses since the day I was conceived. Slowly, at different rates.
I was born “severely” Deaf, that ebbed to “profoundly” Deaf by my 20s. I can’t hear anything at all now with my ears. My favorite composer is Gustav Mahler. My favorite piece is Das Lied von der Erde. I also love Garbage, my favorite song of theirs is “#1 Crush”, the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and a little of everything.
I used to play the piano. My favorite instrument is the harpsichord. I love the tactile joy that is the two step sound of every note, the pluck thud sound. It is amazing and it is precious. I absolutely love listening to Bach being played on the harpsichord.
To be Deaf is not to be insensate. Yes, I have the noise memories from my past. But that is the very least of it. I can feel things with my body, which is one thing hearing people seem to never realize is a thing. It doesn’t go away when you hear less with your ears. I know things around the house to an extent hearing people never could. Because I experience the world differently. It isn’t silence. I am not floating in nothingness. I am also decidedly not straining for inputs.
How I experience the world is just me. Every Deaf person is different. I’ve always been Deaf. And aware. And Deaf are never ever insensate or oblivious to their environment. We may not know the exact words used, but we know the moods and behaviors the of people around us, and we are not impervious
The same genetic disease is taking away my ability to see. I can’t see motion very well. I’ve always watched things with captions or subtitles for my ears and they are doubly helpful for giving me more time with the dialogue, when I hit pause. My favorite movie always and forever is Shawshank Redemption. I also love The Princess Bride and the Matrix series. I am still captivated by Baz Luhrnann’s Romeo and Juliet. I adore Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.
More recently, I was captivated by the Dark series on Netflix. The Man in the High Castle on Amazon Prime was amazing and multipronged and recursive. I am currently enjoying Outlander on Starz and Strange New Worlds on Paramount+ and going through the Star Wars movies in order on Disney+ with my family.
I can’t identify tastes or smells, but I enjoy them nonetheless, and my family has fun making combinations for me to experience and it’s always an adventure. I don’t mind at all not being able to identify. I can feel the joys and that is a whole lot.
I have advancing neuropathy in my hands and feet, and so can’t feel as much. That doesn’t mean no feels. It means different feels. Different experiences.
So not a thought experiment, losing senses for me. My lived daily reality. I hope this gives some insight.
My eyes are the delight my imagination needs every day. I could watch documentaries and movies with subtitles, just as I do with foreign films. But, I would miss the wonder of a full moon that follows me on my evening walks, the constellations that now I know is just a small part of the universal puzzle, the green leaves that signal life is abundant, the sight of dogs frolicking freely, the sight of a waterfall plenishing the earth while being simply beautiful, the eyes of my grandchildren. Oh, so many delights to see and explore. My eyes are my treasure.
While visual art is inspiring, having ARMD, macular degeneration but still dry, I know some day...
So my choice today is auditory- happy songs I learned in Sunday school still reverberate, Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water; protest songs of the 60/70s, marching band - by John Phillps Sousa, spirituals. early folk: PPM, Neil Diamond; drum of Jamaica. Then there are the composers, some by Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, Chopin and nature sounds; on it goes. I am grateful I can still read; sorry books of childhood now on a banned list; some places; do not know what they are missing. I best stop and turn on some music. Appreciate you asking.
BTW - not about your question today but has anyone given thought that Putin, through Iran and Hamas is behind the Israeli attack to draw American aid away from Ukraine??? Topic at lunch today.
As much as I'd hate to lose my sight, I have to vote with you that it would be much, much worse to never hear music again. I couldn't live without music! Imagine never being able to hear "Imagine" again, or "Here, There, and Everywhere" or "Yesterday". The thought is so abhorrent to me it's difficult to explain. On the other hand, I couldn't imagine a world without being able to watch a movie, or enjoy a gorgeous sunset, or see the ocean in all its power and majesty, or do even simple things like driving a car. So it would be a very difficult choice, but I still have to go with being unable to live without music.
One word: opera.
Steven, I’m in nearly furious agreement with your prioritization of the senses I’d least like to lose, but would underscore one that you briefly mentioned at the top of your piece; specifically the sense of memory.
“Was it real, or was it Memorex?”
I’d like never to lose the instant replay of: A grandchild finally staying right-side up on her bicycle; A pissed off tarpon launching into a Key Largo sunrise with the hook of my fly in its mouth; Melissa Etheridge and Bruce magically singing ‘Thunder Road’ together; the scent of a bowl of Emeril’s seafood gumbo placed before me (OMG!); my wife of 50 years saying, “I do”, and a thousand other things.
My guess… I’d use “sense” but it’s already been used :-) is that there comes a time when, for most of us, those memories are about the only cards we’ve got left to play, as our other faculties take their leave. Having watched a parent die (slowly) from the ravages of Alzheimer's, nearly killing her caregiver in the process, my sincere hope is that the good folks at Pfizer and other pharma researchers will prevail, and deal this scourge its exit, sooner rather than later. Given the chance to assist them, or, more probably someone who today IS a caregiver, let’s each get in the game.
Opera. It has been my life.
Now that I'm old and sedentary, I read more than ever. I could live without literature, but it would be a sorry life.
And why aren't you on @Threads? Come join the party.
The Blues, of course.
Music.
Bach and Chopin and all off the Chicago symphony, Monet and all at the Art Institute.💕🎹🎶🎼
A year ago I had Covid and I have lost my sense of smell and taste. Life is so awkward without that. I can’t smell flowers or my favorite white flower perfume. Eating is an appreciation of texture , but no taste. I think that’s as far as I want to go in losing some sense but grateful it’s not anything major. I love so much and have lost just a little . My grandson is deaf since birth but he has learned to sign and he communicates beautifully . I look at him and think he has not lost a sense but grown beautifully without it. Everything is so important “loss” is the key word. It is just that , it would make you a different person.
I have to be able to read. My mother had degenerative retinopathy--its a horror. If I couldn’t read or work in my studio, then just shoot me.
Whether it be a beautiful mountain range, puffy clouds passing overhead, a majestic forest or a junkyard covered with a blanket of fresh snow, listening to Beethoven while consuming this beauty inspires my inner soul. Nature has the ability to heal the most despicable things man has thrown at it - just look at Chernobyl or the battle fields of WWI. Beethoven lost his hearing at very young age, and yet, he created this magical music that can be so simple, complex, beautiful brash and healing. Nature and “music” Beethoven provides me the strength for healing my soul.
As a museum curator, I'd have to argue for the visual arts. There are things I would feel so diminished without having seen. However, music trumps even the visual arts for me. Things I couldn't do without: the Sistine Chapel ceiling; Bach's St. Matthew's Passion; Fred Astaire; Cole Porter; the Acropolis sculptures (Elgin Marbles); most of Monet's paintings; Chartres Cathedral; all media of Rembrandt; Leonardo's early drapery studies. On a smaller--but very immediate--scale: a sliced ripe tomato sandwich on lightly toasted Italian bread, topped with salt and good olive oil. Heaven.
Same. Hearing.
But while the thought of a life without music is horrifying to me I think about Beethoven at the age of 40, completely deaf, writing the 9th symphony.
Any physical disability can be overcome by your mind.
I couldn't live without music, especially classical.
My grandmother and I used to have this discussion. I was a young adult at the time and said I’d hate to lose my hearing. Grandma said she’d hate to lose her sight. She had cataracts and had surgery, but her sight was never quite the same. She used her eyes for so much - sewing, cooking and reading. She was surrounded by books, though she also loved music. Audio books became part of her life. As I’ve aged, I’m not quite as sure. I can’t imagine losing my sight, mostly because I’d lose so much independence. I wouldn’t be able to drive! That thought scares the bejeebers out of me. I love to read but I could (and do on occasion) listen to books, though I love the feel of a book or magazine or newspaper in my hand. I love music and can’t imagine not being able to hear it. Or being able to hear the voices of my loved ones. Or the sound of waves breaking on the beach. Or the sound of the frog fountain in our pond or the birds that nest in the many birdhouses in our backyard or the night noises in the garden in summer. So, good question Steven. 😊
Beautiful, we need it all! Thank you for your keen observations and honest questions, there is beauty and creativity all around us!
In literature, great works of art , magnificent Sculpture, Buildings and never forget the beauty in the world we live, the Oceans, the Mountains, the Desert, it’s structures, the creatures. Travel if you can and explore! If you can’t, read about different people, their cultures and theirs lives, it fascinating!
I was lucky I grew up in a Military Family, I not only traveled this great Country but I lived in many different States, I have also explored the shore of Tripoli where I lived, as well as England, Germany, landed in a Island of Portugal, several times. It started with a love of literature, art and spirit of adventure! Trust me, the World is full of both Creative and Natural Beauty. The travel in the beginning was courtesy of my Father and Mother.
i'm a painter & photographer, but as you say, mary, i can hold those images in my mind forever, i could not live without sound very comfortably, the sound of voices, & of music.. the main music i seem to require is radiohead, although the late elliott smith & long lost nick drake follow right after..
Try imaging having anhedonia. I had a right frontal lobe brain tumor that was removed in 2017. Since then my anhedonia has created such a loss in my life. Those things you talk of rarely penetrate this shield of my exsistence. To experience even love is difficult. It is rare but I do get glimmers. Daily I search for them.
I’m 65 years old and for the past 50 years I have listened to my favorite artists, David Bowie and Todd Rundgren. I couldn’t imagine living without their beautiful voices and lyrics. It would break my heart, tear apart my spirit.Take away my smell or touch, please leave my hearing alone 💔
I’ve taken the piano for granted all these years. I never envisioned a day when it could be taken away from me.
I too would keep hearing. I have sung, played and danced to music. It triggers powerful memories, enables me to dance joyfully, and I remember any words set to music.
All this sounds like garden variety hyper-competitive American materialism. I don't care about how special you think you are about your materialist privileging. Not interested in your bragging! Get over yourselves. Imagination is the greatest sense. And everybody has it, so stop your exclusivist posturing.
I am so visual and hand-eye coordination came so early to me as a child. I’m a visual learner and I would sort of play that same game, asking myself what I would do if I couldn’t see to paint or draw or write words on paper. It would send a shudder through me each time the thought came up. I make a living from my visual skills. But more than that, I would so miss an Arizona sky, a Van Gogh’s thick and juicy painted surface, looking into the eyes of a loved one to “hear” the unspoken, the ability to read words on a page and sit with the type and typeface for a moment, if I lost my sight. I am nearsighted, and have had glasses since the 4th grade, and readers at 35. But I treasure my sight. I’ve lost some hearing in my left ear, but often take my hearing aid out to lessen the sharp and unwanted noises. Lol! I value my hearing but not with the same intensity as sight. I don’t want to play the “game” anymore. It’s just too scary to think about now that I am in my 60s. ...having said that, I love your Sunday questions and taking time to ponder, Stephen. Thank you! 💜🧐
Hearing is my choice as well. My soul would be destroyed if I could no longer awaken to the beautiful bird songs and avian communications going on about me. Without the scores of Howard Shore, Lisa Gerrard and so many fascinating composers to bring us deeper into the story in films would render me lifeless. I would miss so many gorgeous albums of Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Air, early Genesis, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Florence and the Machine, and countless others...To simply gaze at album covers would never be enough.
Thank you, Steven Beschloss, for all you do and have done for this great nation. I am happy to be able to count myself among your tribe.
Thank you for asking this thought-provoking question! I’ve recently been dx’d with early stage macular degeneration and the fear of eventually losing my vision makes me take in all the beauty that surrounds me on a daily basis so I can tuck it away for myself “in case”. This also got me to thinking about how much I love and appreciate all my other sensory perceptions and take them for granted.
If I had to sacrifice one, it would be my sixth sense. The one that carries wondrous gifts and can also chill me to the bone with things I would rather not see.
Tough question.... though my life is the visual arts ... music would be what I would miss.. I was at the Lyric Opera on Wednesday and read now they have "sound shirts" to wear for the hearing impaired ... I choked up when I read that & realized the massive range of emotions the gift of music embraces...
Not sure if my comment made it, computer issues, so I am writing it again - I would keep sound for sure, so much involved in sound - music, poetry, theater, movies (you can still hear the dialogue in both). I have always had bad eyesight but used to think about how awful it would be to lose it, but I agree Sound is so much more fulfilling for me. I love your essays, I am so glad I found them. Thanks
As I read this the thought came to mind; Where would I be without my faith in the Supreme Being of my choice? Especially as the arts of music and the spoken word are so intrinsically entwined with worship?
I can’t live without painting - watercolor, oil, gouache, whatever. Oh and Mother Nature is the best art
I like music best. I used to play and sing, and I often listen to some of my favorite music. My taste ranges from Louis Armstrong to Bach. I think I'll listen to some now. Thanks for the reminder.
Music, for certain.
I too have thought about this question over the years. I couldn't live without hearing. I need to read, but someone could read to me. I cannot imagine a life without sound... The nuance of a voice that says much more than the written word; the sound of birds in the early morning; thunder and rain, howling wind and pounding surf; and of course, Music. I vacuum to Bach's 5th Brandenburg Concerto which fills me with joy while I do a least-favorite task. I think I would probably just die without music. I cannot imagine my life without it.
I’m already quite deaf, with only 50% clarity, I miss music & conversations that don’t have to be constantly repeated. Now I’m having cataract surgery and I can’t imagine being blind, blind and deaf. As much as I still love the solitude that would be over the top.