Are You Sitting Down to Listen?
In today’s world it’s really hard to stand up and speak, and can be even harder to sit down to listen. Both take courage.
The level of criticism and judgment in the current media environment is fierce. It’s a sad reflection of a dominant fear that we all experience on some level within our own circles.
When it comes to sharing our truth – let’s face it – who wants to be subjected to that?
Blame, finding fault, and getting angry with other people’s decisions we don’t like, especially the ones that affect us personally is how most of us naturally react.
We seek out those few we trust to vent our frustrations, and even then sometimes it’s best to stay quiet, and just notice.
It takes a different kind of courage is to sit down and really listen to all sides.
Things are Not as They Appear
There is so much we cannot see in situations that are messy. You know the ones.
How often I thought I knew what was going on with my child where I’d be jumping to conclusions and reacting from there with no real understanding of how their mind in that moment was working.
I wasn’t sitting down to listen.
I’d forgotten what it was like when I was a child.
I was fortunate to have stumbled upon life coaching, and developed new listening skills. The hardest part was applying them to my own loved ones.
But I eventually saw how much I couldn’t see.
It wasn’t of course just with my children – it was with everyone, including myself.
It was easy to point out what I was doing wrong, and what everyone else was doing wrong according to me!
We believe we have the answers because deep down we do, but only for what works for us.
How willing are you to SEE all the little hidden pieces of the other side for what works for them? We don’t have to agree, but understanding the other side allows you assurance that what you choose is aligned with your values.
If you think there’s one right answer – some grand solution that works for everyone, think again.
This is not what we’re after. There may be a better way among all the different ways, but the moment we think there is one right way for everyone, you may as well just accept being frustrated and angry all the time!
Every messy, difficult situation has a myriad of influences happening. We live in a world of deception, corruption, and hidden forces that are more about power and money than anything else.
We also live in a world filled with beauty, a natural order, love and compassion operating in a highly intelligent universe.
But our souls are immature at this stage, and don’t have all the answers to complex problems. Only together can we wade through the mess to become a little more enlightened and discover your own best choice for what resonates for you while allowing others to do the same.
When I remember that I cannot change another person – who I can change is myself and how I respond to them – I shift gears.
I’m in the willingness to find unity consciousness, and it requires me to sit down and listen. Then I can act from a much higher place.
The Other Side
We live in a world filled with fear, a need to control, and desire for certainty.
The idea of trust, faith, and letting go – surrendering to a higher universal truth can feel silly. Unproductive even.
“In the pursuit of knowledge, every day something is added.
In the pursuit of enlightenment, every day something is dropped.
Less and less do you need to force things, until finally you arrive at non action.
When nothing is done, nothing is left undone”
— Lao Tzu
There is SO much we can learn, but it’s in what we can unlearn that’s the secret to life. What we cannot see is right before our eyes and yet invisible at the same time. Love, kindness, and understanding requires us to go deep when things are messy.
Yet, this natural order to life exists in us all. When I watch one episode of “Our Planet” (2019), I am reminded of this FACT. How we are all connected.
A Synchronicity as I was writing showed up..
Besides the incredible way biodiversity exists in nature, the other place of universe order can be seen through highly creative people who are tapped into their soul.
I thought of Akiane who I consider to be one of the most spiritually evolved people on the planet.
What she creates in her artwork is literally ‘out of this world’ and coming from a higher place within her.
When I first discovered Akiane, now a legendary artist whose paintings sell for $millions – she was living evidence of how a creative spiritual force moves through us.
Coming across her latest painting: “trapped in a mirror for a year“, I almost fell off my chair..
“Being able to accept yourself – who you are in this life is the most painful, but meaningful battle we all will experience. No matter how many masks we put on, we cannot forget who we truly are inside.” ~Akiane
You see, my daughter recently created her first short film called reflections that mirrors this exact same message…WOW.
We all struggle to find and accept ourself in this messy world as we try to answer who am I, and why am I here? My daughter struggles with all of her films in a very similar way that Akiane does with her artwork.
I struggle when it comes to my writing. Who am I to be writing anything someone will want to read? We don’t feel good enough. We can’t see our soul, but as we dive into our own truth…we reveal ourselves.
What has helped me the most in living a purposeful life where I feel a profound sense of love and peace is finding the courage to sit down and listen. It’s not just with those I don’t understand, but listening to what’s true to my own voice?
Whenever I notice a powerful synchronicity…I PAUSE. There are countless personalties of different orders in our universe who are here to support our spiritual growth, and one of them just tapped me!
I take a moment to say a quiet thank you.
Finding the stillness to sit down and listen is where I can hear my own truth.
I can allow myself to be guided because the highest part living in me is listening, and helps me come from a place of calm, love, and non-judgment no matter how messy life gets.
Will you practice having the courage to sit down and listen?
