Recently I came across this idea from Alfred Brendel, an Austrian Classical Pianist.
“The word ‘listen’ contains the same letters as the word ‘silent’.”
Wow - what an aha moment. I had to put that on my desk as a reminder for how often we do not listen to our thoughts, our bodies and even others.
I think of it like traveling with a young child on an airplane and the reminder that as a parent you are to put your oxygen mask on first before helping a child.
Do we listen to ourselves first? What is our body telling us? What are our thoughts and emotions telling us?
Are we giving ourselves the silent moments each day to truly listen to what we want or what we don’t want?
Are we allowing time in our days to dream about what might be possible?
How can you show restraint to the mind chatter and the noise and truly listen?
It might look like sitting down with a notebook or journal and quietly let the words come out, or maybe it is taking a walk without listening to a podcast, music, or talking on the phone.
It might be going out in nature and letting in the sounds of the woods or the ocean instead of the noises in your head.
I’d love to hear how you allow silence in your life in order to listen. Drop a comment to share with others!
