Today,
On Wholehearted,
Listening.
I sometimes find that there is an ache in the background of my life,
A disconnection,
A quiet call for understanding and unity that slumbers in the clouds of my doings,
My goings,
My days.
It's a subtle ache that calls me when I am not present,
When I am in mental chatter,
When I am not listening.
When I come to terms with this ache,
I realize there is a gift,
A message for me.
To sink into the moment,
To pause,
To listen,
To be present in this moment to what is in front of me,
Inside of me,
And all around me.
I recognize that so much of my life I am thinking of a potential future or of a held-on to past.
And in that thinking,
I am looking away from the here and now.
I am not listening,
Unaware of the gifts in front of me that seem to magically appear when I arrive,
When I am present,
When I am listening.
I often find that in my mind there is a chatter that even with the best intentions does not find relief until I listen,
Until I bring my focus and attention to the voice who is speaking,
Until I listen to the space around it and between it,
To silence.
I often find there is a desire to be closer to others,
To feel the connection of our relationship,
To feel humanity.
This ache can feed the illusion that we are separate,
That we are distanced,
That we are alone,
Until I listen,
Until I listen to the person in front of me,
To their voice and to their smile,
Their pain and their love,
Their being,
And I am connected to my own.
Until I listen to my own heart and watch for the sun to peek through the clouds in my awareness.
There is a deep healing in hearing the subtleties of life and the experience of this moment in us and around us.
How often do you allow yourself to be fully here,
Fully saturated in attention to what is occurring in your time and space,
In yourself and in the beloved in your life?
How often do you allow yourself to savor this very moment,
This here and now that won't come again in all of your time here?
How often do you allow yourself to drink in the wisdom,
The joy,
The nuances,
The subtle quirks and endearing habits of those you love?
How often do you lend yourself as an opening for yourself and others to feel heard?
How often do you let the ones you love so much go by without your listening?
How much life passes you by?
What do you feel calling for your listening?
Dear one,
I invite you to sit comfortably and begin to pay attention to your breath,
Your inhale,
Your exhale.
Listen to the natural rhythm of your breath,
The ebb and flow,
The giving and receiving of air from outside to in,
From in to out.
The soft sound of your inhale,
Your exhale.
You are here.
You are alive.
Listen to your breath.
Listen to your heart.
What messages do you hear?
I invite you to ask your body for any messages it has for you and to listen to that message.
Inhale and exhale.
You are connected.
What becomes available to you when you approach life as a listening?
What opens up for you when you approach the people in your life and the ones you love as a listening?
What opens up when you choose to listen for what life wants to share with you?
What opens up when you become present and listen for wisdom,
Guidance,
Answers and direction coming from within you?
I invite you to listen.
I invite you to listen for love,
For sadness,
For pain.
For tears,
For healing,
For joy and for the deep richness of being alive.
Notice all that makes us human and all that makes us divine and feel the beauty in each.
I invite you to listen to the laugh of your loved ones,
The sound of their smile,
The peace of their sigh,
The energy of their presence.
Notice the space surrounding your thoughts,
Your words,
Your actions and to hold sacred the choice you have to fill that space with whatever you choose.
I invite you to listen to your here and now.
Feel how immensely blessed you are to be able to listen to what is.
And as you listen,
I invite you to feel the connection that you are and the joy that arises.
I invite you to notice what blooms in your listening.
