words to live by

People being led listen well.  They listen because they do not want to get lost.  They are trying to follow someone.  Or a group.  And failure to hear the leader’s instructions could lead to separation.  So we dial in.  Focus.  Pay attention.  Who are you following?

What voice are you listening to?  Studies have shown we can not listen, that is - really focus on, more than one thing at a time.  Our brain functions isolate one thing at a time to focus on.  So which voice are you letting drown out all the others?  To really listen to? To focus on?

To really hear?

That is what listening is all about: choosing to focus on something - hallowing certain words, certain realities.  Yes, there are thousands of bits of information coming at us, without our permission; but what we rest on, what we meditate on, that is our choice.

At least to some degree.  Of the thousands of ideas, images, and words that come at us daily, we can not strain every last one.  Some get through to our subconscious involuntarily. They sit.  They marinate.  They make their way into our meaning machines.

They become part of our internal tapestry.  Our context.   

This is the miracle of providence.  What gets “in” - when and how it coordinates with what is already going on (in there), is simply a spectacular thing to behold.  No one can predict how our internal world and life’s external circumstances will intersect.  That is the fun of life…

We never know what’s coming!   

It is also the excruciating part of life.  We can work really hard to create an internal landscape  only to have some external word or event break it up.  We thought we were in control in there, but clearly we can not mediate everything coming at us.

But not everything coming at us is invasive.

Some words bring life.  They transcend time.  They are holy.  Other.  Spirit.  We don’t come at them demanding.  Rather we incline ourselves to receive.  In this posture we do not presume total clarity (some sort of clairvoyance) nor do we expect to see a “big” picture.

We simply receive.  One Word at a time.  Daily bread.  Enough for today.  That is it.

It is a responsive mode, much like waiting tables.  Listening is about watching.  Waiting.  Taking inventory.  Seeing things before they are real (believing).  It’s about trusting words to be true, even when they don’t seem possible.  It is about paying attention to the right words.

Words that bring life, and bring it to the full. Who are you listening to?