Is Anyone Listening?

We must listen consciously to live fully. Listening and contemplation connect us to our spiritual being and are a common thread at the center of all spiritual paths.
-The Miracle Collectors

There are no words...how many times have we felt that way after a sad or tragic event effects someone we love. As I've entered a new decade of my life, I've used this expression far too often as someone close has died or received painful news. Our natural reaction is to do something, to say something, and yet as Rumi says, "Silence is how we hear the voice of God." Offering a willingness to listen is what may be the greatest kindness.

We came to that realization as people shared their miracle stories with us and we found it was hard to be silent; so often we want to fix things, jump in and interject ourselves in someone else's story. The reality is all we need to do is to listen. Nodding with understanding helps as well as an acknowledgement of the experience and an appreciation of the courage it took to share.

The right nurse at the right time when lying in a hospital bed, a sign of a loved one's presence after their passing, the miraculous healing of someone not expected to live or to keep a limb or even have a child, an unexpected rescue from certain disaster, these were all miracles that came to us by listening to others. In sharing our stories and expressing our vulnerability, others were willing to share their own stories because they knew they would be listened to, rather than being judged or fixed or have their experience minimized. It was all about our willingness to listen without the need to come up with another question or an answer that seemed to make a difference.

The importance of listening hit close to home years ago, when at the suggestion of my mother, whose other 5-year-old grandson could recite the Our Father prayer from memory, I tried to entice my own 5-year-old to learn the prayer as well. When I sat him down and explained what I hoped to do, he wanted to know why he should say the same prayer that everyone else said. He willingly told me he spoke to God every day in his own words, and questioned why I would want him to change. When I asked why he felt the need to talk to God (fearing of course that my motherly skills were lacking), he simply (or was it profoundly) said, "Because I know God is listening." It was yet another lesson out of the mouths of babes, and a reminder to each of us to follow God's lead and listen as well. As the old joke says, we have two ears and one mouth for a reason. (Joan)