Listening to the Whole

“Leadership is about being better able to listen to the whole than anyone else can,”

 Jeffrey Hollender, CEO of Seventh Generation

 
What is the quality of your listening?  Are you listening to your own opinions forming in your mind while being spoken to—preparing a response?    Or are you able to place your intention in your listening, allowing new ideas and new meaning to emerge?  What treasure or concern might you be missing if you aren’t fully present in your listening?
 
Take a breath.  On your inhale, extend your energy up and out like the branches of a tree.  On your long exhale, see a slowly circling ribbon of light go all the way through you and connect to the earth.  Find your center.  Notice the space around you and above you.  From this centered place, ask yourself the question, “What would it be like if there were just a little more listening in my being right now?”