What if we listened Not to respond?

Losing my voice has been a teachable moment this year, particularly because it happened on my birthday.

This was frustrating and funny at first. I'm a communicator, I relate to people through my voice, my edgy comments, my blablablà.

But my vocal chords decided to take PTO as slowly, my capacity to speak declined into total silence.

When all you can do is whisper, you no longer have the option of fluffing the pillows of conversation to sound friendlier, more charismatic, diplomatic, you only have energy to state the truth if it is absolutely necessary.

Like a wise elder, you become good at discerning whether a comment is worth correcting or simply glancing at. Your reality shifts into a state of continuous meditation, where you learn to release your thoughts independently of expressing them. Processing and cleansing thoughts from within, rather than using the external, solidifies your presence.

Normally we listen to respond, what if we listened not to respond? What if we listened and simply received that information as status quo? Let it sit and let the message take form, then react. For the person who has just spoken, it feels good to have their words resonate, and for the person listening, it strengthens their energy to hold back on saying something futile for ego boost or flattery.

The less distracted you are by the need to respond to a stimulus, the more receptive you can be in all your senses, in that moment. As you become comfortable with silence, you become comfortable taking up space in other ways beyond voice.

People should learn how to just be there, doing nothing... It's not so easy to just be. If you can be happy, relaxed, and smiling when you're not doing something; you're quite strong. Doing nothing bring about quality of being, which is very important. So doing nothing is actually something. - Thic Nhat Hanh