Stop "to listen"

As you know by now, I love to share quotes that come from the monthly issue of "Friends of Silence." This quote is from the March issue and is from a 13th century writer, Ibn Hasdai.

"Man was given two ears and one tongue so the he may listen more than speak." Then Albert Lewis says: "It is a privilege just to listen. And there is a fine distinction between "listen to" and "to listen". When we "listen to" we are actively engaging our senses of sound for a particular audible cue. But, when we choose "to listen," we are opening ourselves up to the sounds of silence and solitude, to ways and words unanticipated, unscripted and often--unfamiliar. We do not choose these words; they choose us."

This is good not only to reflect on but to put into practice!