You Might Be Amazed

So pay attention with joy and acclamation

You know the quote from Mary Oliver’s poem, Sometimes.¹Three imperative sentences, lined up like beacons.

“Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it.”

Do you remember the previous line?

“Instructions for living a life:”

These lines of poetry echoed the inner yearnings that had already led me out the door to look and listen.  I already knew you don’t have to go far to be astonished, you can stand still and be amazed, but you do have to pay attention. These three commands led to the title of this Substack.

I have always been curious,  but absorb the world in small bites, watching the ground as well as the sky and tree tops. Metaphors delight me and clarify my understanding. Early in life, it became clear that this is  not the way everybody takes in the world around them. I contently repeat paths, stop often, watch for moment to moment and seasonal changes. I want to know names and where the name came from. With attention,  I begin to belong, I know the space like a friend. Another of Oliver’s poems, Mindful, describes my experience beyond my own words and you can read it in full below.

I am also legally trained; I can think logically, then order and express my thoughts in exposition. But I know that way of thinking and writing often leaves a lot of detail on the cutting room floor, it leaves a lot of me on the cutting room floor.

Listening has been my path to learning about people, to knowing and connecting with others. Listening and empathy are two ways to comfortably pay attention to  the world. With the Substack, I’ve shared science and mystery of both. ²

The more I have paid attention to this big beautiful world outside my head and the people in it I am endlessly astonished and want to tell people about it. Sometimes, I shout or laugh out loud, but usually I write about it.

Listen First was conceived with a wider frame than just communication between people. For me listening is a concept, a method of engagement that expands beyond the hearing process.  Listening connotes attending and heeding closely, to people, but also to the world, in ways that let you more intimately know a place, a plant, a tree—whatever is encountered. Expect future posts to share where I pay attention and what amazes me. I’m glad you are here. If you want to know more about me, the about page is the place to look.

Here is Mary Oliver’s Mindful, calling like a map of your world.

Mindful

“Everyday
I see or hear
something
that more or less

kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle

in the haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for —
to look, to listen,

to lose myself
inside this soft world —
to instruct myself
over and over

in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,

the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant —
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,

the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help

but grow wise
with such teachings
as these —
the untrimmable light

of the world,
the ocean’s shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?

1. Oliver, Mary, “Sometimes”.

2. I wanted  to start by giving attention to  listening and empathy, both of which seemed  in short supply when posted. Posts #1-#13 look at the what, why and how to of listening and empathy and there will be future posts looking at both of these capacities for connection.