Listen

Listening is at the heart of our spirituality. It is the basis for meditating, the single most important instrument in spiritual direction. When listening, all our other senses come alive and we become quite literally sensitive. The most important prerequisite for listening is to keep quiet. Better still, become quiet. For that reason listening is so difficult. We’d rather talk.

But oh! GOD is in his holy Temple! Quiet everyone--a holy silence. Listen!"                                                                                             Hab. 2:20 The Message Some people listen, while others simply wait to talk.                                                                             Anonymous A good listener is a silent flatterer.                                                  Proverb Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.                                     Winnie the Pooh I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.                                                      Robert McCloskey Please graft on to my head a third ear, to hear better what is trying to be said, to uncover what is actually being said, and to be a living, understanding listener.                                                              Edward Hays

What part of quiet didn’t you understand?

If animals could talk, 

the world would lose its best listeners. 

Robert Brault

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