How do I listen?
The last two days with Sapna, I learned that one facet of humility boils down to a verb.
Listen.
No, not hear. Listen. I have realized that it is impossible to be proud and to listen. Listening is a verb of the heart - it means that I set aside my own life, my own chatter, and my own ideas to look into another's eyes and absorb what he or she says. There is no agenda, no plan.
Just listen.
In the early evening, I remembered the Hafiz poem, and it began to echo in the halls of my strangely quiet mind. Each conversation became transformed, as if each one who spoke was my beloved master, and each word was the last words he or she would ever say.
I was disarmed by surprise. I rarely ever feel such unconditional acceptance.
I began to listen to people even as they spoke to each other. I found love in every word, even if that wasn't the intention. At times I wanted to walk up to someone, anyone, and beg, "Please, tell me your realization. Please tell me about anything, anything,"
When Sapna left after lunch, I slipped away and avoided crowds. Soon, too soon, the quiet of my mind would slip away, too, like water cupped in my hand.
Maybe if I content myself enough, I can listen with my heart beyond 2 days... beyond one week... beyond years...or decades...
"Open your mouth only if,what you are about to say is more beautiful than silence."
--Arabic proverb.
How
Do I
Listen to others?
As if everyone were my Master
Speaking to me
His
Cherished
Last
Words.
- Hafiz (14th Century Sufi Poet)
The last two days with Sapna, I learned that one facet of humility boils down to a verb.
Listen.
No, not hear. Listen. I have realized that it is impossible to be proud and to listen. Listening is a verb of the heart - it means that I set aside my own life, my own chatter, and my own ideas to look into another's eyes and absorb what he or she says. There is no agenda, no plan.
Just listen.
In the early evening, I remembered the Hafiz poem, and it began to echo in the halls of my strangely quiet mind. Each conversation became transformed, as if each one who spoke was my beloved master, and each word was the last words he or she would ever say.
I was disarmed by surprise. I rarely ever feel such unconditional acceptance.
I began to listen to people even as they spoke to each other. I found love in every word, even if that wasn't the intention. At times I wanted to walk up to someone, anyone, and beg, "Please, tell me your realization. Please tell me about anything, anything,"
When Sapna left after lunch, I slipped away and avoided crowds. Soon, too soon, the quiet of my mind would slip away, too, like water cupped in my hand.
Maybe if I content myself enough, I can listen with my heart beyond 2 days... beyond one week... beyond years...or decades...
"Open your mouth only if,what you are about to say is more beautiful than silence."
--Arabic proverb.
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