I was sitting on a friend’s porch yesterday next to a fountain that was maybe 3 feet tall by 2 feet wide. Water circulated from the bottom to the top and made a lovely, familiar sound. For a few minutes I was entranced. Then I thought, what is it about the sound of water that calms us and is so pleasant?
I did some quick research and discovered the sound has been connected with reducing cortisol, a stress hormone. Zhuangzi, a famous Chinese philosopher from around the 4th century B.C., observed that “the sound of water says what I think.” For me the sound brought me back to a Cape Cod beach.
Then I realized perhaps one reason why the sound of water is so appealing is it has a way of stopping us and inviting us to focus on our surroundings, whether that is our thoughts, the sand and horizon, or our friends. The sound of water is, in other words, a spiritual pause button.
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