The first word of the Rule of Saint Benedict is “Listen”:
Listen my son to the instructions of your Master, turn the ear of your heart to the advice of a loving father…
Over all the centuries that Benedictine monastic communities of women and men have been living by this rule, perhaps that first word alone has been almost enough.
“Listen”. What does it mean to you, to us? How many times are we able to listen to ourselves, to others, to God, with the full attention of our hearts, minds and bodies? What would the world be like if we really and truly listened to each other with full attention.
What if we were to stop assuming what someone means before they even get to the end of their sentence. What if we were to stop building our own arguments or witty comments in response while someone is still talking? What if we were to strip away our own defences to listen to others’ pain, confusion, even hatred, knowing that the full flowering of our compassion will cause us pain as well as connection?
I love the phrase “turn the ear of your heart”. Surely this is what we as humans must finally learn to do if we are to survive.
