These words never fail to strike fear in my heart despite their intention to calm. Yesterday was test day for the Emergency Broadcast System in Boulder. Thank goodness we have this available. Let’s just hope we never need it!
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Today I visited St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church in Boulder for both the 8:15 and 10:00 a.m. services. I went to announce the start up of a new Listening to… group there and to talk about what topic might be of most interest to the folks in the congregation. The list of possibilities includes (but [...]
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At dawn every morning this week I have heard an owl just outside our home. I’m wondering why suddenly he (or she?) is hooting; is this a seasonal owl behavior? Never lasting very long, the song is distinctive. I wish I knew what the bird looked like too. Is it a Great Horned Owl? I [...]
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Listening is noting what, when and how something is being said. Listening is distinguishing what is not being said from what is silence. Listening is not acting like you’re in a hurry, even if you are. Listening is eye contact, a hand placed gently upon an arm. Sometimes, listening is taking careful notes in the [...]
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“Words are medicine too….Words can harm…just as the wrong medicine can harm. But words can also heal.”
Even the smallest utterance is an encouragement and an invitation to respond. Our words open intricate channels of relationship. Each time we speak, our words are alive with energy. Every word that passes our lips, [...]
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…on the Pearl Street Mall. I had one person sit to tell me his story of coming to this country from a far away land. Then the police let me know that one can’t set up a listening post like this without a permit. Still the two hours I was very instructive. [...]
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…being truly listened to is a rare experience for many of us and to be listened to attentively and respectfully can be very empowering.
–Victoria Field in Writing Works by Gillie Bolton, Victoria Field and Kate Thompson, 2006
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When the artist is truly the servant of the work, the work is better than the artist; Shakespeare knew how to listen to his work, and so he often wrote better than he could write; Bach composed more deeply, more truly than he knew; Rembrandt’s brush put more of the human spirit on canvas than [...]
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