Sounds of Silence

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools", said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"
And whispered in the sounds of silence

- Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel
An amazing song... how true it is 'the neon gods we make'.
Yesterday I saw an advert on the TV for a 'cash for gold' service where you send in your unwanted gold by post for evaluation and if you are happy with the amount they will send you the money.

Basically it is an easy way of converting gold into cash.
What would you spend this cash on? The examples they give are a holiday, downpayment on a new car and a flat screen TV.

This seems to me another way of attaching importance to objects. Converting an appreciating asset to a depreciating one even as the sign flashes its warning.
On the other side one can see the clear practicality in this brand new world where cash is king and the hitlist of desires grows silently like a cancer till it consumes our thoughts.

Good luck to us as we seek the sounds of silence by increasing the noise!

:)