Dear Listener,
That statement, listening is a creative force, holds layered meaning. As listeners continuing to hone our skill, we have experienced the immediacy of listening as a creative force. We have witnessed it directly in moments when, just through being heard, a guest opens and reveals something to themselves… and everything softens. Even the air in the room seems to soften. While the situation our guest finds themselves in may not change, in the shared moment of listening some long-held tension just goes away. The tension may come back later, but in that rich and timeless moment everyone takes a deeper breath, veils of protection evaporate, sincerity is palpable and mutual.
It may not always happen like that, but shifts similar to that happen during listening and happen regularly. Different every time, by default. That’s how creativity is – always new. How have you experienced this mysterious creative force?
And how do you experience the creativity force of listening that expands beyond our one on one experiences?
I’m thinking of our history at the Listening Post. Marcia and Mary, the co-founders, hadn’t known one another although both had lived a long while in Alaska. They met, as if by accident, at a spiritual directors conference held in British Columbia. I love this story. It’s our creation myth. Marcia and Mary, two strangers, simultaneously find the inspiration to offer listening in their community and… the LP was born. Birth is the quintessential force of creativity.
How has the LP gone on to birth you? Listening has invited me to unfold and expand, at the LP and in my relationships with family and friends. It isn’t an uncommon topic at our meetings – that being a listener has changed us.
Listening is a magnetic and strange thing… how evocative…
And, with magnetic attraction, the Listening Post has been getting many new requests for volunteer training (please thank Carol, who is setting up training for 9 new listeners). We couldn’t out create the creative force of listening.
with gratitude that expands and unfolds,
Avie