Listen ...

What a wonderful thought and such healthful positive encouragement!

I passed this black granite bench for the first time about a year ago as I hustled between meetings, and I still see it about every other month. It was etched with the single word you see in the image. What a wonderful idea - to take a moment just to sit and listen to the world. Listen for a child's laughter. Perhaps a distant dog's bark or a nearby bird's song. If it's sufficiently quiet, maybe you can listen to the murmur of a breeze as it whispers sweet nothings in your ear. If you're really lucky, you'll get a chance to listen to yourself. It's centering.

How relaxing. How restorative it would be to do as the bench encourages. We live in a stressful world, and whenever someone tells me "listen," I do anything but listen. It's usually a prompt that generates tension or anxiety.

This "listen ..." is different. Any time I can just take a moment and drink in the melodic sounds of life rather than its noise ... well, that is time well spent.

I recommend we all do it. Every day.    

Make the time ...

                       to take a moment ...

and                                                     TGB