“Listening” on Medium and Beyond
How well are you doing?
There was a debate going on in my village in regard to how many trains passed through each day.
It would be easy to count since the train ‘whistle’ could be heard as it traversed many crossings within the village limits.
I ‘tuned’ my ear to listen beginning at 9:30 in the morning. By noon, I counted four trains. I also heard an airplane fly overhead, an ambulance on its way to help someone, birds singing and the wind rustling the trees’ leaves.
If I hadn’t been listening, I would have missed so much!
What else am I missing when I don’t listen?
“Listening” to my Medium friends
While listening for trains, I began thinking about how I ‘listen’ to my Medium friends.
Writers, for each piece they write, pour themselves out through their words! Do I really ‘listen’ to what is being said with their written words and try to discern what is behind their words? Or do I skim over their articles, barely ‘listening’ to their hearts speaking?
We know that we must read an article for at least 30 seconds before it can be counted as a ‘Read’. Will we give them that time and really LISTEN!
Let’s Listen to Ourselves
I also began thinking about how I ‘listen’ to myself. Do I?
Or am I too busy….
We each are a three part being — spirit, soul and body. Thus, each part of us must be heeded.
Spirit
Since God usually speaks in a quiet voice, it really takes a pause and intent to hear Him in our spirits.
This is what happened in Elijah’s day:
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. I Kings 19:11–12
Let’s do better in listening to God every day — and then take some time to write down what we hear!
Soul — our mind and emotions
Do I ‘listen’ to what I’m thinking or feeling? Or do I cover it all with busyness?
Let’s do better to listen to WHAT we are feeling and WHY, deciding how to move on in a healthy manner.
Likewise, our minds are so busy that we barely take a breath. We just keep jamming them full of music, social media, news and more, more, more.
We rarely sit in silence to feel or think long thoughts.
We can do better, can’t we? It seems to be a choice.
Body
If I don’t feel well, do I ‘listen’ to my body and adjust my activities for that day? Or do I just plow through, expecting my body to follow me along my not so merry way.
Let’s do better at listening — to God, to ourselves and to our world around us, even on Medium!
We can only benefit!
What are you ‘hearing’ right now?
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Dawn Ulmer, a retired Registered Nurse, has enjoyed writing since the age of 19 when she wrote ‘My Philosophy of Nursing’. After marrying and becoming a mother, she developed a newsletter for young mothers called ‘Moms and Sidekicks’. She has been a columnist for a women’s newspaper in Grand Rapids, Michigan on the subject of time management. From that column, her first book was written and published: “Balance of the Hurried Woman”. Through the years, she has been published in ‘Decision’ magazine, ‘Our Daily Bread’ devotional and other publications. Presently, she is enjoying writing on Medium, her favorite platform.
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