Did You Hear That

“Part of doing something is listening. We are listening. To the sun. To the stars. To the wind.” ―Madeleine L'Engle

Wait, did you hear that? Stop what you're doing, turn down the radio or TV and listen. At first it sounds like complete silence. But keep listening, the noises going on around you, the conversation in the distance, a plane going by overhead or maybe the bark of a dog.

It is difficult to hear all of these different things when you don't stop and listen carefully. Focus on the silence and now think about when you are listening to someone speak to you. Are you focusing on what they are saying? If we don't listen carefully, we miss out on a chance to learn something new. J.W. Marriott, Jr. said and I paraphrase, "...one who doesn't listen well risks missing critical information, losing (or never winning) the confidence of the other and forfeiting opportunity."

There are times when I will sit in a quiet room and simply work on listening. Practicing how to focus on different sounds and trying to identify them. One of the things I work on is simply being still. It was said by someone that said, "...in order to say the right thing at the right time, keep still most of the time." Listening to others comes very natural to some and can be a learned skill by others. But either way, listening is important to our daily lives.

Try it some time - focus on the other person and absorb what it is they say. Regardless of how slowly or fast they may talk. Whether you agree or disagree with them, you may just learn or find new possibility. Wait, I did hear that!