Happy Friday Everyone,

Rain bounces off the roof to let us know it has arrived. Wind knocks the world about to be heard. Snow falls without a sound. You have to pull the curtains back, cup your hands to the window, and look to see if the snow is falling.

Snow invites us to lean in and listen. Too often we listen to others in order to figure out what we should say. Snow offers no such invitation. It simply falls, inviting us to remain quiet. 

Snow offers us a lesson in listening. The quiet of the snow creates space for us to focus, to watch, to be present. It quiets our minds – leaving us without the need to speak. When others talk with us about serious matters, troubles they cannot understand, problems they cannot solve – too often we listen in order to speak. Our minds race ahead to the “fix” and we wait for a moment to speak about our solution to their problem. What the other needs is for us to be present – nothing more.

When we really listen there is only one voice in our head – that of the other. When we quiet ourselves we make space for the other to lean forward and hear their own voice echoing off of our silence.

I hope this weekend you have the opportunity to have someone listen to you and to experience the quiet of listening to another. There is so much to be learned by listening, and so much we come to understand when there are others in our lives who believe in us enough to listen with the quiet patience of falling snow.

Peace,

Chris