An online journal sharing my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, spirituality and asking deep questions.
If there is meaning in the past and in the imagined future, it is captured in the moment. When you have all the time in the world, you can spend it, not on going somewhere, but on being where you are. So I stretch out, close my eyes, and listen to the rain.
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Generous listening is powered by curiosity, a virtue we can invite and nurture in ourselves to render it instinctive. It involves a kind of vulnerability – a willingness to be surprised, to let go of assumptions and take in ambiguity. The listener wants to understand the humanity behind the words of the other, and patiently summons one’s own best self and one’s own best words and questions.
Krista Tippett, Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living
Over the years I’ve discovered how poorly I listen. Some of the discovery is from encountering people who are poor listeners, enabling me to see the reflection of myself in them. Becoming a better listener allows me to be the student rather than thinking I need to mansplain it. I agree with Krista that listening is a virtue we can invite and nurture and overtime becomes instinctual. It seems to me listening is the very foundation to any healthy relationship with another human and all of creation. With that in mind, my curiosity begs to ask the question, what do we learn when listening to the silence of a winter snowfall?
You have seen many
Hanoochi
sunrises and sunsets
upon your branches and
your sacred roots
O’ Tree Spirit
I give thanks to you
for the singing birds that you shelter
for the music you sing in the breeze
for listening to the voices of the creatures
for echoing the ancestors strength
“If the person you are talking to doesn’t appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.”
A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
“Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That’s the problem.”
A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
A while back I had a cottontail approach me and instead of saying my normal welcome such as “hello” I kept silent. We just watched one another, remaining present to each other and the moment. This was unusual behavior as they do not stay still very long. I wonder, was it due to the fact I did not talk but kept quiet. Anyway, I’ll continue to practice remaining quiet, listening and see what happens. Pooh may be on to something here.
Listen to the wind
Native American Saying
it talks
Listen to the silence
it speaks
Listen to your heart
it knows.
I’m learning to enjoy the silence of nature as I take time each day to listen in nature.
courage to persist
ms
listening for our answer
robins morning song
Watching the first light of this new day, the moon setting in the west while the sun brightens the eastern sky. A gentle wind blows, prompting the meadow grasses to dance. A pelican bobs on the waves of the reservoir. Robins sing their morning song for me. A hawk effortlessly soars on the wind currents high above the reservoir. These are calming moments for my soul to begin the day. We have a chance for rain today, much needed moisture.