Echo
For this instalment of my one-word offering, I’m bouncing around the word echo.
Echo
A repeated sound caused by the reflection of sound waves
Repetition, reflection, imitation
What comes to mind?
There’s a field near me that I sometimes walk through, when it’s not too muddy, as it’s the most direct route into the village. It’s a gentle slope scored by rabbit runs, flanked by trees, and there’s a well-trodden path that passes the fenced-off old bunker.
A few weeks back, I was walking through it with my dog and he started barking. I don’t know what set him off – possibly a bird, a falling leaf, or the scent of a rabbit – but when he barked, something barked back. He got louder. It got louder. He was stuck there, halfway up the slope, barking at himself.
A week or so later, in a meeting, a colleague talks about breaking out of our echo chamber. He was referring to getting our message outside of our immediate community, reaching more people, new people. We realise we can end up talking to the same people, saying the same things, hearing ourselves over and over and getting stuck there.
Where might this week’s word take you?
Do you have something that you’ve been bouncing around? Perhaps it’s something you’ve written and read too many times – now you’re stuck and have no idea what you think of it? Could it be time to share it with someone or set it out into the world?