This is the last day of the Five for Five challenge. Today’s topic is listening. Thanks so much for reading. Be sure to visit Momalom to read some gorgeous writing.
There is noise around me. Constantly.
It sits in the background, buzzing,
seeping into the cracks of quietude.
The chatter, off-rhythm cacophony, irritates me.
Most days, its decibel is tolerable.
Other days, it drowns out music
and other things I’d rather hear,
like laughter, ocean waves, birds, trees.
This — the state of persistent, annoying,
modern-day, 24/7, always-on media madness overload.
Universal mute button, how I wish!
Delete. Logoff. Shutdown. Unplug. Turn off.
So I can listen, by choice,
and pay attention to what matters.
++++++++++++++++++++
Are you a good listener?
What makes a good listener?
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, I wish I had a mute button too, sometimes! Well put!
Universal mute button? Yes, please.
I love this.
I think I am a decent listener. But I am trying to become a better one.
I am with you. I was not born in the technology generation, so although I use email, social media, etc., I miss those simpler days when we used to talk to friends on the phone or just not sit in front of a device all day! I try and take technology-free days/weekends off when I can.
I trained once to be a rape hotline counselor, and that is when I truly learned what it took to be a good listener.
Universal mute button? Genius!
Can I take this as an instruction manual?
A button to mute the universe. Call the patent office.
Ha
I think if it goes to mute we will look for the noise 
But I do get it 
too much out there.
Ha ha, good point, humans always want what they lack. Let’s assume, then, that this UMB also unmutes.
I would invest in that. Can I get a mute for everyone else’s cell phones, too? That would be useful.
I think we’d all buy one of those!
Such stillness captured here. The promise, the wanting, the demanding. Gorgeous and inspiring.
To listen by Choice. What a foreign concept. I hear you!!!
I echo my fellow commenters. A universal mute button – love this. And enjoyed this sentiment on listening.
I echo the call for a universal mute button!
What a perfect post to read right before I shut down my computer on a Friday afternoon to spend the weekend offline and with my family. Thanks, Belinda.