Listening ...

"The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself.

Maya Angelou

Being cloistered by winter weather, the person we most talk to is ourselves. It may even be that the person we listen to the most is ourselves. The negativity stemming from both of these situations impairs our growth. When we are busy balancing the heaviness of judgment, there is very little energy remaining for personal improvement.

If we give ourselves the time to investigate what is weighing upon our heart, fresh insight can steer us to improved understanding. When we can identify what exactly is underneath our out of control feelings, new directions can be explored. Name issues such as: lack of control; inflexibility; over analyzing; and out of date behavioral patterns.

Setting these issues aside, begin to make a list of our best qualities. Then go back and add specific situations that highlight these strengths. Next, lifting our focus up to the Divine, we can experience a stream of unlimited loving kindness. It is a given that humans are imperfect, but we have the choice to listen anew.