We like to think that we have it all figured out all the time.

Or that we don’t have anything figured out, and that we’re totally helpless.

It seems infrequent that we actually play in the grey areas – where we might actively admit what we really do know, and what we really do not, and let the rest lie, or fall where it may.

Life is surprising, beyond our comprehension, and we pay it so little attention, that we really shouldn’t be approving or disapproving of different circumstances, or things that occur. It really doesn’t make sense to claim an understanding of “cause and effect” where we have none.

However, in every action, or event, we create this idea that we had some control over it. Or, even, that we planned the event.

And it passes. And it is forgotten. And we do it again.

Instead of participating in this post-facto justification – which may be the single purpose for our neo-cortex – instead, do something else…

Listen…

Listen to what’s actually occurring around you, and within you, now. Listen deeply. Listen to the whisper of the blood in your veins. It’s audible. You just have to listen.

Listen to the traffic out on the street, and then listen further. How many blocks away can you listen? How far out can you stretch that awareness?

Listen to the people speaking to you in your life. Stop doing other things. Stop text-messaging during an in-person conversation. Stop trying to “multi-task” (you can’t, anyway). Stop speaking in your own head when the other person is talking, and listen.

Listen.