The other day, I was narrating this poem to my 6-year-old, when I had a realization that this little nursery poem carries a lot of wisdom in modern times. We are always so stimulated in our daily lives, caught up in our own busy routine, answering phone calls, looking after the kids, attending meetings, that we forget to really listen. 

What is really listening? To listen to others what they are ‘really’ trying to tell you, to listen to our own children, to listen to our own inner voice, listen to our intuition, listen to our breath, listen to what our heart is trying to tell us in a situation for example, listen to the rustling of the leaves and the chirping of the birds. We hardly listen, and we expect our children to listen?

When we listen, we get into a space of silence, a kind of stillness within, where we learn not to react to everything around us, learn to choose where and how we spend our energies, we learn to ignore the trivialities that surround us.  

That becomes a space where we can hear our inner voice, we can hear the birds chirping and the leaves rustling and the winds blowing, we truly listen!

Take a pause now and then, the moment you find yourself all over the place, listen to your breath, feel it on your upper lip as you breathe out from your nostril and draw your attention to that little space for 10 minutes in a day, or simply taking 3 deep breaths will center you as well. 

Here are a few articles to guide you on the path of cultivating deep listening ~

The Power of Intuition and 5 Easy Ways to Tune in
6 Ways to Determine Whether You are Hearing Your Intuition or Ego
Silence: The Journey Within

We also conduct an occasional listening circle to hold space for each other as we share our hearts in a non-judgmental environment. Find out more!