Day 11 — Listen.
Dr Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929.
Fifty-nine years later, I was born.
This year (2020) I had to travel for work to Atlanta, Georgia, USA, his place of birth. Ninety-one years later I was celebrating my birthday in the same place, on the same day he was born.
Yes, you might call it a coincidence, but only today, January 20th when the United States of America celebrates “MLK”’s birthday, is when I realized of the “coincidence”. I knew I was born the same day he was born and I even knew he was born in Atlanta, but I didn’t put two and two together until right now, reading this very good article:
The reason I have written the word coincidence in quotations is that sometimes the things you know and may seem obvious to you, acquire meaning (or a new meaning) if read in a different context.
That happened to me while reading that article and I felt I had to write about that. Since 2020 started, I’ve been listening even closer to what life tells me: listen to what the sunset might whisper as the sun goes down the horizon; listen to the voice that’s within a city’s noise. Listen even in silence. Just listen.
Curiously, that article is about listening. Yes, it’s about the kind of leader Marthin Luther King Jr. was, but also about his way of leading by listening. Which is why I had to write about it. It was too much of a coincidence not to do something about it.
Therefore, here’s my invitation to all of you: Let’s listen, let’s not judge as we hear someone else’s words, let’s not draw conclusions so quickly. Let’s pause, listen, interiorize, and think.
To finish, her’s a random thought: I couldn’t help but notice that the quality of the photos in the article is amazing. Great photography material and since this is a photography blog, I wanted to leave you with a couple of black and white photos of my own where I live now. Enjoy!
Thank you all for reading me, let’s listen.
Stay strong,
Juan
