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Reflections
2
A Thought
By far the most common and important way in which we can exercise our attention is by listening. We spend an enormous amount of time listening, most of which we waste, because on the whole most of us listen very poorly.
An industrial psychologist once pointed out to me that the amount of time we devote to teaching certain subjects to our children in school is inversely proportional to the frequency with which the children will make use of the subject when they grow up. Thus a business executive will spend roughly an hour of his day reading, two hours talking and eight hours listening. Yet in school we spend a large amount of time teaching children how to read, a very small amount of time teaching them how to speak, and usually no time at all teaching them how to listen.
I do not believe it would be a good thing to make what we teach in school exactly proportional to what we do after school, but I do think we would be wise to give our children some instruction in the process of listening – not so that listening can be made easy but rather that they will understand how difficult it is to listen well. Listening well is an exercise of attention and by necessity hard work. It is because they do not realise this or because they are not willing to do the work that most people do not listen well.
M Scott Peck – The Road Less Travelled
A
Hymn
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When the summer sun is shining
Over golden land and sea,
And the flowers in the hedgerow
Welcome butterfly and bee;
Then my open heart is glowing,
Full of warmth for everyone,
And I feel an inner beauty
Which reflects the summer sun.
When the light of summer sunshine
Streams in through the open door,
Casting shadows of tree-branches,
Living patterns
on the floor;
Then my heart is full of gladness,
And my soul is light and gay,
And my life is overflowing
Like the happy
summer day.
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When, beneath the trees of summer,
Under leafy
shade I lie,
Breathing in the scent of flowers,
Sheltered from the sun-hot sky;
Then my heart is all contentment,
And my soul is
quiet and still,
Soothed by whispering, lazy breezes,
Like the grasses
on the hill.
In the cool of summer evening,
When the dancing
insects play,
And in garden, street
and meadow
Linger echoes of the day;
Then my heart is full of yearning,
Hopes and
memories flood the whole
Of my being, reaching inwards
To the corners of my soul.
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When the summer clouds of thunder
Bring the long-awaited rain,
And the thirsty soil is moistened,
And the grass is green again;
Then I long for summer sunshine,
But I know that
clouds and tears
Are a part of life's refreshment,
Like the rainbow's hopes and fears.
Sydney
Henry Knight, 1923—
Used
by permission
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From Hymns
for Living
A Prayer
Give us, O God, a vision of our world as your love would make it:
a world where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or poor;
a world where the benefits of civilized life are shared, and everyone
can enjoy them;
a world where different races, nations and cultures live in tolerance
and mutual respect;
a world where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by
love;
And give us the inspiration and courage to build it!
AMEN
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