Listen to your life
Every moment is a key moment
An old silent pond Into the pond a frog jumps Splash, silence again.
In these early days of January, during which I have been setting a new rhythm of life in place, I’ve found myself experiencing strange connections between apparently random decisions. Here is my attempt to capture something of this in a post. Forgive me if it is a bit of a ramble. I feel I am trying to grasp something that is rather intangible, but I have a sense that, for me at least, it is rather important.
And so it begins …
I adore the writing of Frederick Buechner. I stumbled across his work unexpectedly a couple of years ago by following a footnote in a book by another writer. I immediately fell in love with his work. As 2025 began I took his book of daily meditations from my bookshelf and began to work through it. In the past I’ve dipped in and out, but this year my goal is to be more systematic. The book has the intriguing title of Listening to your life, and each day presents a fascinating, if somewhat random thought. By the way, it seems that the entry for each day is now being posted on his official Facebook page. If you have an account on there you can read for free here. Do let me know what you make of the entries.
One thing leads to another
One of the things I adore about Buechner is that he champions the ordinary being extraordinary. Reading Buechner’s daily meditations caused me to revisit another book of his that lives on my bookselves: The remarkable ordinary which is subtitled: How to stop, look and listen to life. How often do we rush through life without taking a moment to notice what is happening around us? And what do we miss in doing so? I found myself pondering these questions in these strange days at the beginning of a new year where time has yet to settle back into routine.
As a writer I’m aware that it is important to also be an observer. Reading Beuchner has encouraged me to not only observe others, but to consider observing my own life. Not in a naval gazing way where every emotion is picked over, but rather from a fly-on-the wall point of view. What wonders await us in the everyday moments if we take time to pay attention? What adventures might open up?
It was in this second book that I found his application of this simple philosophy of stop, look and listen to the art of creating a haiku. He loves this poetic form because he says it doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Rather it is a way to put a frame around a moment. It is a somewhat more creative way to capture a fleeting happening than simply clicking the camera app on our mobile phones. Refering to the very familiar haiku I included at the start of this post Buechner writes:
Haiku enable us to see, to experience this moment that is framed ... in this case, as I see the most commonplace kind of moment of walking along, the frog plops, the silence comes back, and so on.
… leads to another
Unexpectedly reading about haiku in this context intrigued me further because I had just written three haiku as part of a free online winter writing sanctuary course run by the lovely Beth Kempton.
Coincidence or an unseen guiding hand at work in my life? As a person of faith I lean towards there being a divine nudge towards paying attention to the everyday in order to see the extraordinary. You may, of course, draw a difference conclusion.
However, it has made me more determined to stop, look and listen to life. And, who knows, perhaps there are lessons to learn from what I see and hear. If not, there is the definite benefit of taking life at a slower pace, of noticing the beauty that surrounds us, and recognising the moments of silent peace that punctuate our overly busy lives if we would only look for them.
Can I encourage you to join me in this? Take a moment right now to stop, look and listen to your life. What did you see and hear?
Three haiku … simply because
Red kite in blue sky Wheeling on the high thermals Beauty kisses clouds Snow white roses bloom Defying the winter's cold Summer promised, soon Turkey soup takes me To my mother's warm kitchen In memory only
Nice to meet you Sharon. Found you from Mika's. Enjoying your stream of consciousness, poems, and followed Buechner’s FB at your recommendation. I always need to be reminded to stop, look, and listen. Thanks!