The dream of my life Is to lie down by a slow river And stare at the light in the trees — To learn something by being nothing A little while but the rich Lens of attention.
~ Mary Oliver from "Entering the Kingdom" in DEVOTIONS
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When we don't listen, we are shutting ourselves off -- not from others but from ourselves. We can't do anything from a place of knowing. When we think we know something, we don't listen. We have to empty ourselves over and over, return to unknowing, and just listen. And listen. And listen... And once we listen, we have to act. The functioning that comes out of listening -- out of "Attention!" -- is compassionate action. If we don't listen, we can't act with compassion.