June’s Great Path of the Moon is Listening. A poem by Nancy Wood

There is a story inside everything: wind, rain, fire. Even in the sound corn makes when it is trying to grow in the field. Rivers have great stories, so do leaves rustling on trees. Listen to old stones for information about survival. Put a pebble to your ear and listen to the tale it has to tell. What a seashell has to say will surprise you. So, too, will words written on the wind.

Listening to silence is hardest of all. You want to fill it up with conversation. With noise. With distraction. Resist the impulse. In silence you can listen to your own heartbeat; you can take the pulse of continuity. In silence, you can dream great dreams. You can discover your own music.

Why is it harder to let go than it is to hang on? Even when a thing seems finished, a shadow remains. You ask: Did i do right? Was there a way to bury our differences? By saying nothing, did you say all?

It takes effort to make something of your life when other people are making do with less. Have courage to make a change. Indecision prevents action. Memory clouds reason. Fear paralyzes. Routine decays.

Listening means hearing the voice within you. It never fails to tell you the truth, even if you don’t want to hear it.