Eyes
see only light,
ears
hear only sound,
but
a listening heart perceives meaning.
This quotation by
Brother David Steindl-Rast is published in his book, A Listening Heart. You can see a review of the book by Sister
Mary Margaret Funk on Monastic Interreligious Dialogue. (See Review.)
Brother David is
a Benedictine monk at Mount Saviour Monastery in upstate New York. He is a
writer and founder of gratefulness.org. This quotation was the thought for
today and it is significant, because listening is certainly important in
relationships of all kinds.
I am very excited that New York Times
bestselling author, Mark Nepo, has a new book, Seven Thousand Ways to Listen: Staying Close to What's Sacred. He is the subject of a news article
here in Southwest Michigan because he will be hosting several events around
this book. You can read about the book, see the schedule of events, and enjoy a
brief video interview. (See MI Live Interview. According to the article, Nepo
points to great spiritual leaders of all faiths who receive information,
reflect and then speak. In a telephone interview:
"Everybody is
shouting over each other and very few people are really listening. In fact,
silence is mistaken for uncertainty rather than true reflection."
I would like to think of myself as a
good listener. And I do think listening is about more than just hearing words
and other sounds. Listening is a whole-body habit.
I have been thinking about listening a
lot, especially as I am reading Wesley
the Owl. I am very touched by Stacey O'Brien's sharing of her experience of
raising Wesley, a barn owl. When you are reading, beyond the enjoyment of being
able to witness the adventure through another's words, you are often transported
into your own experience in ways that bring meaning. Perhaps that is what
Brother David is writing about when he says your listening heart perceives
meaning.
Although the following paragraph is
about Stacey's experience with Wesley, and about birds of prey, see if you can
identify people in your life who have needs like this:
Since owls don’t flock, herd, or pack, they have
no social setup for correcting each other’s behavior. Therefore, Wesley had no
way to interpret any act of aggression except as a threat on his life. For this
reason, the number one rule in interacting with birds of prey is that you can
never show them any aggression. You cannot try to discipline or correct them as
you would a child or a dog. They would not understand it. I could never raise
my voice or do anything that might seem at all aggressive, even when trying to
stop Wesley from doing something for his own protection. I could only gently
remove him from whatever situation was putting him or me in danger. Eventually,
he might learn that a certain behavior wasn’t allowed, but not in the usual
way. It took longer and required much more patience than the normal pet owner or
parent is accustomed to.
Wesley the Owl, by Stacey O’Brien (p.72)
Today, as I read this,
and I look forward to an evening with Mark Nepo, it is my intention to listen in the way that will allow me to have the
sort of patience with my world that Stacey had with Wesley.Even when I am listening to my own inner being...
