“The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear.” -Rumi
We live in a world of constant noise that is filled with the seemingly incessant din of opinions, events and outrages. There’s an expectation to have to say something about
everything, even if we really have nothing valuable to add. Social media is an obvious testament to this reality. But Rumi is inviting us to consider another reality: we’re too busy talking to really listen. So we need to consciously quiet ourselves, internally and externally, to actually hear the world around us. Whether it is our chattering or opining, we often block out the sounds and voices we should be listening to: voices of the marginalized and oppressed versus the voices of validating and aggrandizing. So I invite us to quell the urge, or expectation, to always say something, and instead, try to listen deeply.