We recently considered the practice of listening to our own heart-beat as a way of listening to personal wisdom.
I think there is another kind of listening that we can open to. It’s not our heart-beat, but the social-beat, if you will, of the places, communities, and even the world (earth) that we live in.
When we are outside of our place of residence and find ourselves among other people, what do we notice? Inviting ourselves to notice is like listening more carefully for our heart-beat, but in a social, public setting we are listening for the presence, interchange and energy dynamics that are created by this group of people in this place gathered together. When we tune in to the social-beat of a place, we begin to pick up on the energies of the people we come into contact with, and then, as that expands, on how all those gathered there are creating the energy of the place as a whole.
I was in Aldi’s recently picking up a few items that we needed. As I moved through the store, I tried this kind of noticing. Suddenly, I tuned into a young father and his son talking about the cool toy on the shelf. Then it was two women, apparently friends, looking for an item they had not found yet. Then, a lone man with a buggy full of items looking for the shortest checkout line. I noticed two employees on the floor watching to see what needed restocking. And, those most important people–the cashiers–eventually came into view. They were young adults, and the lines they were serving seemed unending. I tuned into them. I saw their gentleness, their kindness as they dealt with various individuals and families. When it was my turn, I felt the young cashier responding to me with that same energy. As I walked out of the store with my items, I think I felt lighter. It was a store full of human beings doing their needed shopping, and, somehow, choosing to tune into the social-beat allowed me to take in the energy that was making up the dance of that place.
Can we tune in to the social-beat of large places? Cities? States? Our nation? Another nation? Can we tune in with our hearts and not just our heads where preconceived notions live? Can we pick up on the heart-beat of this planet and all her children? When we tune in to the social-beat, we should be ready. It can change us.
~Bob Patrick
