listening

Listening is where love begins: listening to ourselves and then to our neighbors. - Mister Rogers

this is a difficult thing to do these days. with busy schedules, media and e-communication we have little time or quiet to ourselves. i encourage you to try what i did. i started with 5 minutes per day. some days i manage 20 minutes, but i'm happy if i get at least 5. in those minutes i sit and try to quiet my thoughts. when i can do that i try to listen. i'm hoping to get ideas that will help my well-being or maybe a problem at hand.

i don't literally hear anything. what i do get is a sense about things. i'm listening for feelings. how can i get through a frustration? what can i do to help a friend? why am i so sad? sometimes i have no question at all. i simply listen for what thoughts or feelings that might be there. frequently, the only thing i sense is, 'wow, it's nice to be quiet.' the best thing i've learned is that i am an important and loved part of this universe.

i really like mister rogers' idea of listening to our neighbors. this is the way to peace. to understand those who are different from us is the way to living together with acceptance instead of fear and anger. this is different but very important listening.

the society of friends, the quakers, believe that god speaks to all of us if we're open to listening. their sunday service is an hour of silence. the quiet may be broken if someone feels they have a message to share, something that came to them while sitting quietly. they believe there is a spiritual power in coming together and listening as a group.

listening to your conscience is important too, though it's not always easy. even as an adult, i often fight my conscience about going to bed at night. i always want to do 'just one more thing.' i'm learning though that my conscience is always right. if i listen closely, i make good decisions and life turns out better. quiet helps.

i used to be one who didn't like silence. it felt uncomfortable. now i appreciate it because it is often hard to find. i've learned a lot about myself and problem solving by listening. try it! you never know what you'll hear.