What I Heard About Listening From the Harp
paula volpe
“Be a lamp, a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.”— Rumi (1207-1273), Daily Quotes, inwardoutward.org.
If I were redesigning a program about spiritual direction, 90% of the time would be dedicated to listening. My experience shows that listening is one of the best tools the Holy Spirit uses within us. I am talking about active listening, where we clear our minds of agendas and what is happening in our lives as much as possible. We offer the gift of time for forty-five minutes or an hour to listen to someone else’s life. During this time, we have the privilege of caring for another’s soul and helping a person recognize God’s never-failing presence in their own life.
I sit, and all these great ideas come to me as I listen. “I think they would like this book. Changing to this spiritual exercise might be helpful.”
I'm learning that when I interrupt with my ideas, they often go unnoticed, but if I wait until there's silence and then speak, the person seems to understand and listen better to what I might suggest. As I wait, I sometimes realize, “No, this was not the right book or spiritual exercise.”
I've learned a lot about listening from my harp. You might have noticed a loud buzzing sound when some harpists play. Buzz. One reason for the buzz is that we've plucked a string that is still vibrating from a recent finger placement. We have to wait for the string to stop vibrating before playing it again, or this annoying sound will interrupt us.
My buzzing harp reminds me that I have to wait for the person I’m visiting to stop talking.
I am learning to play fewer buzzing notes as I talk less and listen more. As a result, my buzzing harp string has become my icon for listening.
Listening can serve as a “lamp, lifeboat, and ladder” to the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives and those of our spiritual friends.