What if people sang out loud, just because they felt like it?

What if this was a normal thing to do, to express one’s feelings with music instead of judging whether one was ‘good enough’ to be allowed to do so?

What would it be like to hear ‘hello’ from every stranger you met?

What if cars had no alarms?

What if leaf blowers were never used?

What do you say to yourself, and how do you say it?

Do you speak to yourself as if you trust and value you? Do you listen to your inner voice? Are you kind to yourself? Can you sing out loud, tell yourself jokes, and reassure the timid, scared parts of you that you’re okay? Or do you judge yourself for being less than you think you should be?

Are you even on speaking terms with yourself? Or do you go for long stretches without remembering that you have an inner voice? Do you tell yourself that you love you? Do you compliment yourself for doing something well, and thank yourself for being brave?

Do you sit still and simply listen, not so much to the many sounds and noises out in the world, but to the sounds within you?

If you meditate, you may already do this, simply because you take the time to sit still, to engage yourself in the art of listening.

Stillness is the first part of the art of listening, going within yourself to listen is the next. It’s a simple activity, one that will give you bountiful insights into the most valuable resource you have, namely yourself.

I come from a long line of busy people. It’s possible that you do too.

‘Idle hands are the devil’s playthings’ or however that phrase goes, could have been stamped on the wall of the house I grew up in.

Except it would have gone more along the lines of ‘mom’s coming, look busy’. Being engaged in the act of listening to myself didn't count. Maybe this is why meditation became so important to me as an adult.

At a young age, I learned that adults do not like to see a kid sitting around, doing nothing.

Your energy vibration has a lot to say about what you are able to create.

Consciously or not, your energy is set at one vibration or another right now. You might be vibrating at a happy peaceful energy, or you could be caught up in a more challenging vibe of fear, resistance, and pain.

A happy vibration of energy makes it easier for you to visualize what you want, and to know it’s possible to attain it.

Deep listening is an art.

The ability to listen deeply is more than simply hearing the noises of the city or your office or home. When you take the time to listen to yourself, your body, the earth, nature, spirit, other people, you receive information that helps you understand and grow. Listening deeply brings awareness.

Listening is an underrated ability these days. We are rushed and prodded and shamed and pushed to go faster than ever before, to not take the time to listen. Listening requires time and space, and if you have little to no time or space for yourself in your daily life, you won't be able to hear a lot of things, including and especially yourself.