Gifts

There are gifts to be mined from every interaction.

We must listen with the intent to understand. If you listen and stop short at hearing, you've heard and haven't received. Listening is an act of giving, but there is always a gift to receive. It's a mutual thing.

When we sit down with the people in our lives (strangers included), books and articles, art, nature, ourselves, put aside tomorrow and last night. Put aside the labels, judgements and notions that we've curated and have become addicted to over time. No agendas. No note-taking (remember in school when you would get every word down, but still had no idea?).

Word choice, intonation, body language. Be open. Take it all in. Try and understand what the giver's soul is trying to say. Understanding will illuminate things about you and humanity at large. This is the gift.

Gift the give of showing up to your conversations in a space of newness and presence.  You might get something in return.