You Aren’t Listening

Daily Meditation #243–10/23/2022

This could be you, but you’re too worried about getting dirty.

You are being spoken to — or at — all day, every day.

The news.
Employees at stores.
Your neighbors.
You spouse.

And, oftentimes, the voices being directed your way have messages for you.
Sometimes, they’re exactly, precisely what you need to hear.

You hear the words, you perceive the sounds.

But, you aren’t listening.

Because you don’t want to listen to that which you need to hear.

You are happy.
Content in your ignorance — after all, “Ignorance is bliss,” as they say!

Those who love and care about you bombard you all day with that which you need to hear, but unless you prepare the ears of your heart, mind, and soul, you will never hear that which they are telling you.

Be prepared to hear things that wound you.
Damage your pride.
Crush your spirit.
Fly in the face of your beliefs.

Be prepared, but bear the burden of what they tell you, at least with an open mind.

“Are they right about it?” ask yourself. Ponder deeply the words you perceive as harmful.

Maybe there are some flakes of gold about your character to be found in the mud slung at you. You only need to be willing to receive the metaphorical face full of shit with humility and to dig through it for the gold!

Follow for daily philosophical meditations. Today is day #243.

These are distillations from my coming book “YouDaimonia: the Ancient Philosophy of Human Flourishing.”