Who are you going to listen to?

What does it feel like to be listened to?

I’m not talking about the waiter at your local cafe taking your lunch order, but someone to really listen to you, and deeply understand you, just when you need it?

Don’t get me wrong, listening for the staff is important for the staff to get your order right at the cafe. And a smile from the waiter can bring a rainbow to anyone who is having a tough day, time, life. But maybe if everyone listened as intently as a waiter does, perhaps life wouldn’t be so tough.

Imagine a world where everyone listened.

Like right now, I’m in a public space, and the man behind me is watching something on his phone and laughing so loudly, it is making me laugh too. I can hear his joy. And it is spreading like honey on bread, sweetly and sticking to everything it touches.

But what about the times when things are bad? Do you have someone to listen to you? To share your troubles? To help you make better choices, clearer decisions? To be listened to and to be heard. When was the last time that you did this for someone else?

Imagine what that could do for the world.

Today I am going to listen. Be present in all that I do, so that I too can hear what people need to say and make the decisions and choices that go along with it.

Today is a winding road, like any other. Today I will spend time with someone I love so dearly that it hurts and she is suffering. If I really listen to her then perhaps, just like the man behind me or the waiter sharing a smile, I too will bring rainbows to her day.

Who are you going to listen to today?