Blind people have better . . .

In the book Eavesdropping: A Memoir of Blindness and Listening by Stephen Kuusisto, Stephen talks about entering a hotel lobby. Upon entering he stops and listens in order to identify his surroundings. He hears the chimes on the elevators. Sometimes he hears the wings of a bird that has flown into the lobby. He is doing what he calls "creative listening" where he just listens to all the things happening around him, in great detail, and basically paints a mental picture of his surroundings.

Stephens view of the world comes from a very different perspective than yours and mine. And in reading his book I discovered that we are missing a lot. The sounds a horse makes when he's standing quietly in his stall, his breathing and swallowing. The sounds of ice as it shifts or breaks under our boots. Or the sound of pills dropping on the linoleum.

I think we can use these ideas when it seems like things just aren't working in our own lives. The new project isn't taking off. Our relationships feel strained. Or we just aren't happy with the way things are going, but we can't identify the "problem".

What if that is because we are trying to "look" for a solution when we need to "listen" for one? What if it just takes a different perspective?

Action: Take something you are working on and try to understand it from a different perspective. If it seems like a work issue look at the personal perspective ~ how you could be affecting things. If it seems like a financial issue look at the spiritual perspective. If it seems like someone else's actions are the problem look at your actions. Be open, do some "creative listening" and let another possibility open itself to you.