I’m sitting on a park bench in my neighbourhood. The breeze from the nearby lake is strong and liberating. I’m surrounded by plants and greenery in every direction. The sunset makes its reflection on the water, shattering into a thousand little rose-golden crystals. The chirp of birds, the howling of wind through the leaves, the frantic rustling of the pages of my book and the constant sound of the waves are beckoning to me, calling me to a world beyond human thought.

It’s funny how we can go from seeing beauty in everything to becoming completely devoid of any feeling at all, let alone ones of love and fascination.

But if I close listen carefully, I’ll realize that everything around is trying to tell me something. The wind is telling me to be stronger, the waves are telling me to be grittier, the grass and tress are telling me to be kinder, and the sky is telling me not to give up on my dreams, ever. And if I listen even more closely, I’ll probably hear my own mind telling me something. Though I’m not sure I’m listening closely enough yet.

Everything around us has a message to give. Everything around us has a story to tell.

Just stand back and listen.

I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I’m going to learn, I must to it by listening. -Larry King