Wind Chimes

Wind Chimes

Is there a sound that helps you fall asleep? 

I have friends who need sound to fall asleep and use various things to give them that comfort to fall into a nice sleep cycle.  One uses a hair dryer (has had them catch fire a couple times over the years), another cannot sleep without the television going softly in the back ground.  Still others have used “sound generators” to give them different sounds such as waves crashing on the shore or a water fall into a lake or stream.  I guess it is a comfort thing for many people, myself included.  What sounds do I like to hear?  The ocean surf is probably my favorite but it is only a few times a year that those natural sounds make its way into my ears.  The sound of a thunderstorm passing by is another one that I missed while living in Alaska all those years as we had none there.  The closest thing was occasionally “thunder snow” would fall it there was the right combination of static electricity, upslope air and humidity. 

Right now the sound I hear almost every night is: Wind chimes.  The house here is surrounded by them on the outside, so there is a nice gentle breeze most nights that blows and I can hear them singing all around the house.  I fall asleep to chimes and their rhythmic music especially with the windows or door open.

This is the rainy season in Georgia right now as late winter, early spring has arrived with temperatures getting into the seventies during the day and sixties at night so with the rain, wind, and chimes moving with the air flow or rainfall it makes for a very relaxing music.  As it rained last night the wind started to pick up, the chimes began their soothing sounds and as the rainfall fell harder there was this patter, splattering on the metal roof sounding like a drum with the wind chimes giving a harmony only nature could provide.

It seems my whole family loves wind chimes and we all have several of them around the outside of the houses we live in and in the trees around the yard.  I was brought up to believe that chimes are an indication that your angels, guides or loved ones are around you and are simply making their presence known.  It may be a Southern thing but we have always believed it was that way.  It should always be seen as a sign of comfort, but it is not necessarily a sign of a specific message.  Think of “chimes” or even the sound of bells as someone on the other side is announcing themselves at your “door.”  Though many times we don’t always answer the door, you can always count on the sound being a welcomed visitor and not one to fear.  Chimes never represent strangers; they represent someone who is familiar to us in spirit.

I have heard many stories over the years, and heard many experiences regarding chimes and bells.  In fact, if you are familiar with the Frank Capra movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” (my brother Ron plays it every Christmas since he was a young boy) you will note the scene where little Juju is in her father’s arms at the end of the movie.  Someone puts money in the cash register and you hear the tinkling sound when the register drawer opens and closes.  Little Juju says, and I paraphrase: “Look, Daddy, Teacher says whenever you hear a bell ring an angel gets its wings!”  I was brought up on those promises, and in my family, when we hear chimes, we “know” that we are in the presence of divine guidance and it is usually followed by a validation of some kind. 

 Reverend Billy Graham just passed away and my chimes have been going strong since just before I heard the news of his passing.  I can only imagine what it was like at the big reunion in Heaven with his arrival. 

Ice