“[T]here is a great book: the very appearance of created things. Look above and below, note, read. God whom you want to discover, did not make the letters with ink; he put in front of your eyes the very things that he made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that?” Augustine of Hippo
Listening is a foundational human activity, and it demands more than meets the eye, or ear. Our ability to listen is threatened today by several factors, not least of which is the audio onslaught we experience. There is so much to hear that we tend either to gorge ourselves or simply shut down and stop listening.
Perhaps the better move is to do as we should with food: limiting fluff eating makes space for healthy eating, and healthy eating lessens our craving for fluff. We can exercise discipline and regulate our listening for the sake of health of mind and soul.
My wife listens to audio books while doing hand work. I want to find hand work that lends itself to such simultaneous listening. But Augustine takes us to a new level, pointing to a sort of ultimate audio book. Having no letters of ink, this book speaks to us, he says, of the most important things and with a loud voice.
Yet experience shows that volume alone is not enough. Unless we clear the airwaves and tune in, even a loud voice is usually lost on us.
We won’t be able to listen to this book, or any book, all the time. Limitations of schedule, and of our senses and mental attention prevent it. But opportunities for listening abound if we take them. This is perhaps the best reason to prioritize certain kinds of leisure and work in the natural world. Here are two examples.
1. Go for a walk and/or sit on a bench with the intention of listening to what nature says. In this time we might have turned on an audio book, but rather we consciously ‘turn on’ the book that is always streaming. ‘Nature’ here is not some abstract object; it is the concrete creatures in our view-shed. A voice is emanating from them. Picture just sitting and trying to discern what it is saying as you sit there.
2. Do work in lawn, garden, or woods with the intention of listening to nature–again, in the concrete objects. Such listening is not a distraction from our work. Rather, we can learn to listen in and through our work. This can purify and enrich our work, even opening it to better methods and fruits. Picture planting a seed, pulling a weed, pruning a limb, or sanding a board and trying to discern what it is saying as you do so.
We can learn to work with such a ‘listening’ attitude. It’s as though we put on the ultimate ear buds. Yet unlike with ear buds, there is no separation from what is going on around us, but rather a harmony, a being-tuned-in to the astounding fulness of creation.
With my own eyes I have seen such men at work and at leisure. They show that this great book is there for all, and they inspire us to become better at listening to it.
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And a Reminder to PLANT GREENS NOW!:
And a Reflection on INDIVIDUALIZED ATTENTION for our children:
Husband, father, and professor of Philosophy. LifeCraft springs from one conviction: there is an ancient wisdom about how to live the good life in our homes, with our families; and it is worth our time to hearken to it. Let’s rediscover it together. Learn more.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament shows his handiwork.
One day tells its tale to another,
and one night imparts knowledge to another.
Although they have no words or language,
and their voices are not heard,
Their sound has gone out into all lands,
and their message to the ends of the world.
Psalm 19:1-4, Book of Common Prayer 1979 US.
Amen!
As a writer myself, I can report that it is always the sweetest humiliation to pause and rediscover that I will never be as good of an author as God.
Its for the birds!
Trees
by Joyce Kilmer
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
From Aristotle: In all of nature, there is something of the marvelous.
There is always something wonderful to glean from nature, being surrounded by it and aware of what it has to offer. Spend more time outdoors!
Amen!
As a child I had the good fortune to have spent every summer living on the Atlantic shore. The sound of waves, the gulls and terns, sometimes the wind, and even the sounds of joy from other children in the waves, all made for a magical setting. I now also have the good fortune to be able to take my children and grandchildren to the shore for a week in the summer to enjoy the same thing. But what drives me absolutely bonkers is to see, or actually quite literally hear, other people who have set up radios or setups to play “music” while at the beach. Even Bach or Beethoven would be out of place while on the shore, but what these people force other people to hear, is akin to the nails on a chalkboard against the setting of the majesty of the ocean shore’s sounds. Fortunately the beach is big enough where we can move to only the sound of the waves, but I cannot comprehend what these other people do and what they are missing.
Amen to that! I have experienced that in my own family and it is maddening!
Yes!