Resiliency & Listening

Dear Listener, I’ve been taken by the concept of resiliency. Having been a volunteer listener for over a decade now, I have been moved by how the term comes up amongst volunteer listeners. By listening to people in our community we get to see a side of humanity that...

Rest on the Edge

(this letter was written on 9/26/2019 – one from our archives) Dear Listener, How many times have you signed up for a listening shift since coming to the Listening Post? For so many of you it would be overwhelming to count. And you do it: you serve. You do it so...

The Quiet Ambassador

Dear Listener, It has come up before, many times during our decade plus of service as volunteer listeners, that the Listening Post is countercultural. The term counterculture implies not just a way of being that is different from the main stream culture, but a way...

Waiting, a Ritual

Dear Listener, I have a weekly ritual these days… Once each week I log into our scheduler and delete the shifts scheduled for the next 7 days out. On the surface, this is not exactly what I’d desire to be doing. There is a bright side, though. Each week...

Alone Together

update: 4/20/2020 The Mayor of Anchorage has extended his Coronavirus emergency proclamation until May 6th. The LP remains on pause at least until then. We are staying abreast of health and safety needs and practices and look forward to returning to our service of...

Listening Remains a Constant

 Listening can remain a constant in an ever changing world   Dear Listener, This Listening Post has been in a month long pause in its formal listening in our community. And, while we had looked forward to soon returning to our normal schedule of serving in 8...

What Are You Listening To Right Now?

Dear Listener, Have you noticed any influx of poetry in your life during this time of the serious need for our response to Coronavirus? I have. ‘Course you may know my fondness for poetry, it has shown up in these letters before. Recently, with the stressful...

Another Poem; The Art of Listening

The Art of Listening I knew something of conversation, or so I thoughtuntil I listened to another.Knew something of the talk, the sounds the chatter,But to listen and to speak when moments call,that is far greater.Of conversations past, I no longer can remember,Since...

Ask Me; A Poem for Listeners

Dear Listener, This week I offer you a poem. William Stafford touches into a silence that resonates with the sacred art of listening – at least to my ears. If this poem resonates with you, with your listening practice, or with anything that moves you, I would...