How to Listen

 

Tilt your head slightly to one side and lift
your eyebrows expectantly. Ask questions.

Delve into the subject at hand or let
things come randomly. Don't expect answers.

Forget everything you've ever done.
Make no comparisons. Simply listen.

Listen with your eyes, as if the story
you are hearing is happening right now.

Listen without blinking, as if a move
might frighten the truth away forever.

Don't attempt to copy anything down.
Don't bring a camera or a recorder.

This is your chance to listen carefully.
Your whole life might depend on what you hear.

--Joyce Sutphen 

What to Do

 

Wake up early, before the lights come on

in the houses on a street that was once

a farmer's field at the edge of a marsh.

Wander from room to room, hoping to find

words that could be enough to keep the soul

alive, words that might be useful or kind

in a world that is more wasteful and cruel

every day.  Remind us that we are

like grass that fades, fleeting clouds in the sky,

and then give us just one of those moments

when we were paying attention, when we gave

up everything to see the world in

a grain of sand or to behold

a rainbow in the sky, the heart

leaping up.

--Joyce Sutphen

[Photo of Indians Rocks Beach, FL]