Active Listening

of course it is challenging to listen

when talking is the focus

just as it is challenging to be still

when motion is the focus

it feels as if

we are doing nothing

when we sit in silence

fooled be the false impression of passivity

we disguise an escape route

claiming to be bored

we give ourselves permission

to seek something more sensational

acknowledging the difficulty of “doing nothing”

and recognizing how output obsession

encourages the constant doing to begin with

creates curiosity about experiencing the opposite of what’s familiar

of experiencing being

and observing how we are

listening can be overwhelming

all of those experiences that aren’t ours

can challenge our carefully curated internal narrative

and it is scary

sitting still can be overwhelming

all of those emotions we’ve been

distracting ourselves from begin to surface

and it is scary

it is not boredom or lack of interest

that keeps us consistently doing

it is the fear of what we will find

within ourselves when we stop and listen