The night after my daughter was born, I said the word “Hush” a lot to soothe her, elongating the end of the word—”Shhh….” It made me realize that the origin of the meaning of the words “Hush” and “Shhh” is not “Shush!” or “Shut up!” I wasn’t shushing my daughter, rather I was soothing her by making sounds reminiscent of her time in the womb, when she was surrounded by water. And perhaps that is why, on a subconscious level, I find the ocean waves so calming—for they hark back to that time in the womb, when I was enveloped in its protection. That, in addition to the fact that nature in general brings peace and calm.
