World Listening Day

Well, I must have not been listening. I missed World Listening Day which was celebrated July 18. But I know I can still practice this much needed skill and try to listen deeper and more comprehensively to others, to God, and to my own voice. Maybe you are up to this challenge too.

World Listening Day was created to draw attention to the way humans need to be listening to the world around us, including environmental awareness, soundscapes and acoustic ecology. What a good reminder to be more active and attentive about practicing listening to the world on a more regular basis.

Active listening is a fundamental communication skill that involves paying full and conscious attention to what another person is saying. It is not just about hearing the words but listening to the speaker’s emotions, thoughts, and intentions behind those words. Listening is being fully present to the other.

So often we are saturated with ambient noise and constant information overload; therefore this special day services as a reminder of the need to turn the volume down and pay attention to the nuanced noises that surround us. From the sounds of nature to conversation, active listening is an essential skill for learning, communication, and emotional well-being. Maybe hearing a word that shimmers in your soul.

Many natural sounds, like frog calls and rustling leaves, are vanishing as cities expand.

World Listening Day draws attention to these losses by highlighting soundscapes threatened by human activity.

Spend time in silence, then actively listen to your surroundings. Try to identify new sounds or patterns you’ve never noticed before. Record a short audio diary of your day’s soundscape.

Depending on the location, simply taking some time to listen to the environment can be an easy way to celebrate World Listening Day. Take a walk alone in the woods or a part, silence your phone and just open those ears to listen to the surrounding world. Listen to the wind in the trees, the birds chirping, the bees humming.

Have you ever considered what we don’t hear anymore due to all the noise in the world? A few weeks ago, we spent three days in a treehouse built in the woods near Hocking Hills, Ohio. I was amazed with the stillness and quiet deep in the forest. That area was more silent than my home even when I am by myself. I could almost touch the silence.

I love my Merlin App which identifies the birds I hear singing. I take a break midday, rest outside in our backyard deck and listen to our pond singing as one stream of water jumps into another. I strain to hear the wind rustling the leaves on the tree behind the fence. Ahhh, nature’s music.

Listening takes effort and retraining ourselves to slow down and notice with our ears. “You can wait for the next sound and hear it as if for the first time. Know nothing about the source of the sound — its shape or its purpose. Let it arrive at your ears entirely in the present, with no history. Listen like a new baby listens.” W A Matthieu

We can also listen to our lives. What is your life telling you? What are you present to? Is your body trying to tell us something? We each have deep wisdom in us. What if we held ourselves in reverence? Listen to your life, the mystery of it, the ups and downs, and the grace. Be tender with yourself and with others. Remember that we are human beings, not human doings.

We can listen to each day. Using reflection consider what did you hear that day? What may you have missed? Where did you experience God today? What did you hear in nature?

Listening takes intention and practice. Listening is being fully present to the world around us and God within us. Listening is being open and still in order to best capture the nuances surrounding us. Listening awake us and attunes us to the divine.

Hush now. What are you hearing as you take a moment to listen?