Nancy Kline
AUTHOR

Listen To

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“Listen,” she said, “to the non-human sounds around you. Decide to listen to them, not just to hear them.”

 

Not just to hear them. One of my favourite things in the whole wide world is hearing the birds in our garden. I look up when I hear the Blackbird’s flute, the Kite’s screech, the Magpie’s staccato, or the five-note ditty of the Cushy Doo. I look around for the sound’s source and smile at it, thanking it for its song. 

 

But listen to it? What would that entail?

 

Stopping, for one thing. Intentionality, for another. Sitting down, settling in, taking a long moment and listening to it? Would I really hear something different?

 

I tried it.

 

I heard context.

 

It was heavenly.

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