"To listen is to continually give up all expectation and to give our attention, completely and freshly, to what is before us, not really knowing what we will hear or what that will mean. In the practice of our days, to listen is to lean in, softly, with a willingness to be changed by what we hear." ~Mark Nepo

Image: Mexican Wolf  / Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum  / March 2012

Beyond the wind...

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.  ~Baba Ram Dass

 rock squirrel
charmed by woodland stories
whispered by the wind

Beyond the wind,
listen to the bamboo.
~Shibayama Zenkei

"Beyond the wind" generally refers to the realm beyond the illusory, material world, while listening to the bamboo is a reference to the fact that some species of bamboo grow so quickly that if one listens carefully, you can actually hear them growing.  ~Enso: Zen Circles of Enlightenment by Audrey Yoshiko Seo