“We truly listen if we sense ourselves to be in danger.
Imagine, for example, that there is a murderer at large and we are alone in bed in the middle of the night and there is a noise downstairs. At times like these, we stop moving, our entire body, inside and out becomes very still until nothing is left but a heartbeat. Even our breathing becomes inaudible. Our concentration is focused totally on the sound. Animals, sensing danger, stop in their tracks and literally prick up their ears to listen….
We need to listen as if our lives depend on it.”
(from “Matsumoto News: A Newsletter by Karen Hagberg; March 1990)
- Who are you listening to?
- What are you listening for?
- Who is not being heard?