I want to ask everyone this morning to take a moment and listen to the sounds around you. Do you notice that there are sounds going on all around us that we ordinarily block out? We can hear our own breathing. We can hear the church heating system, or the sounds of traffic outside, or our neighbor tapping their foot on the floor. We are constantly surrounded by some kind of noise, whether we realize it or not.

There’s a man named Gordon Hempton who travels around the world recording sounds--especially sounds found in the most remote parts of the world or sounds made by the rarest creatures on earth. You may have heard his work, even if you weren’t aware of it. His recordings are used in movies, TV shows, and video games. They have even won him an Emmy Award.

According to Hempton, it’s ve…