Listen
“The first act of love is to listen.”
Practice Listening to Your Place
What brings a smile when you hear it in your neighborhood?
What noises cause concern when you hear them in your neighborhood?
What are the confusing voices and messages you hear in your neighborhood?
What are the hopes you hear for your neighborhood?
The first practice is to listen.
To love a person, or a place, we begin by listening. Listening is how we cultivate connection. The invitation is to be generous with our attention. Listening invites us to give honor and focus through our senses. At the root of all formation and transformation is an awareness. Awareness begins with listening.
Listening is an act of worship. “Hear, O Israel…” is known as the Shema, the central affirmation of the Jewish faith. The first principle and foundation in worship is to hear. The practice of listening to our place may be the pathway to our best prayers.
“Listen to your life…” wrote Frederick Buechner. The noise, both external and internal, makes that invitation seem impossible at times. With any practice, the best practice is to start small.
Walk out the front door, without the phone, around the block… and listen.
Drive with the windows down, and the stereo off… and listen.
Stand in line at the store, the school, the coffee shop, or the shopping center… and listen.
