Listening

We often think of listening as something we do for others. But over time, I have learned - some of the most important listening we'll ever do .... is inward.

Not to noise.

Not to opinions.

But to the soft, steady voice within us.

The one we often silence in the rush of the day.

There is a difference between hearing and listening. 

Hearing happens by default.

But listening?

That's intentional.

It's active.

It's sacred.

I have learned to listen....

To the tiredness behind my forced smile. 

To the quiet joy in the simplest of routines.

To the uneasiness I feel when something isn't right - even if everything looks fine on the outside.

I am learning to listen....

To my body when it says "Rest."

To my heart when it says "Not this."

To my spirit when iit says, " You're enough."

In prayer, I now speak less, I listen more.

Not waiting for a loud answer - but for the calm, the shift, the clarity that follows when I finally stop trying to fix, or explain, or control.

I listen to people differently too.

Not to reply.

But to receive.

Because sometimes, being heard is the healing.

And in relationships - the best ones - I have found the deepest comfort in silence. In the space between words. In being listened to even when I didn't have the words yet.

Listening is more than a skill. 

It is a kind of love.

To listen - truly - is to say: 

"You matter. I am here. I am not rushing away."

And when we turn that same listening inward, we start to heal. We start to return to ourselves.

Because deep inside, beneath the noise of expectation and fear...

There is a voice waiting patiently.

Are you listening?