[Travel Better] All Roads Lead to Quiet with Gordon Hempton

In this episode of the Wisdom & Wanderlust Podcast, Jake Haupert joins Robyn in the conversation with Gordon Hempton, also known as the Sound Tracker. Gordon is an acoustic ecologist who has circled the globe three times over the span of 35 years.

Gordon talks about how he turned listening into a career and his inspiration behind creating quiet parks around the world. He also discusses the importance and benefits of getting out of your comfort zone in a place like the Amazon and how he takes people on sound journeys through the Amazon Awakenings trip.

 

"So in the listening to nature’s music or own music, it lets us know that listening is actually a performance." - Gordon Hempton [35:53]

 

"But in the quiet, because quiet is healthy, you can feel yourself heal, become healthier in that quiet." - Gordon Hempton [38:17]

 

"This is really heartening because we all have a right to quiet. Quiet is no longer a luxury. Quiet, just like health, literacy, food, is something which we need to achieve our birthright of being who we are. Basic human rights." - Gordon Hempton [40:45]

 

"Not only do all roads lead to quiet, but many roads are different lengths." - Gordon Hempton [43:53]

 

"When I let go of control and let it happen, then it was this aha moment in my life that I realized that was the problem. In my personal life and in my business life is I was working under the assumption, the myth, that if I want anything to happen, I have make it happen, but in the Amazon, I understood that no, what you do is you let things happen and that allows you to observe what is really happening and then you move with it.” - Gordon Hempton [53:52]

 

What You Will Learn:

• [00:01] Intro
• [03:43] Meet Gordon Hempton
• [07:44] How he got into acoustic ecology
• [11:42] Spending time in church with Jake
• [14:02] A story about swimming at night
• [17:54] Behind the name “The Sound Tracker”
• [24:12] How he differentiates sound vs noise
• [31:13] Ways to truly listen day to day
• [33:58] What is a sound portrait
• [37:08] How we can protect these quiet places
• [43:45] What Gordon means by all roads mean to quiet
• [45:38] What makes the Zabalo region special to Gordon
• [53:15] One real transformative moment in his life
• [56:32] What he’s learned through challenging experiences
• [1:03:11] One piece of advice to Gordon’s 20 year old self
• [1:07:28] Outro

 

Resources:

• Gordon Hempton’s website
• Quiet Planet’s website
• Gordon Hempton on LinkedIn
• Afar article: The God of Silence Speaks Up
• Quiet Parks International
• Amazon Awakenings: Exploring Ecuador with Gordon Hempton