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Apr. 5th, 2011 07:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
in_the_blueListening is a lost art. Since it was lost, looking for it seemed the thing to do. Not anywhere exotic, just around.
The raccoon who guards the front door and sleeps like a puppy with her head on her paws is a very good listener, or at least has very good ears. But the only feedback she gives is to run away. That's okay. She's wild and shouldn't grow to trust people.
The chickadees frequenting the bird feeder have great ears. They're also brave to a point. One actually landed on my hand, probably because of inertia and good listening. It squawked and flew off, out of reach, and sat and watched. I tried to understand, but I don't speak chickadee. That's never stopped me from trying.
When I call his name, my cat listens. Mostly, he's just interested in preening and catching my hand with his paws and teeth. That's a language I understand, because I know he likes it when I pet him. This is what the hand-in-paws gesture means. He's taught me a lot about communication.
The cat, the birds, the wild creatures: they're easy. It's humans who have the most problem with listening. We interrupt, we rush to finish thoughts for each other. Maybe if we just slow down, breathe, and attend when other people speak their words, we'll learn more from each other than the cat's taught me.
But he is a pretty smart cat.
The raccoon who guards the front door and sleeps like a puppy with her head on her paws is a very good listener, or at least has very good ears. But the only feedback she gives is to run away. That's okay. She's wild and shouldn't grow to trust people.
The chickadees frequenting the bird feeder have great ears. They're also brave to a point. One actually landed on my hand, probably because of inertia and good listening. It squawked and flew off, out of reach, and sat and watched. I tried to understand, but I don't speak chickadee. That's never stopped me from trying.
When I call his name, my cat listens. Mostly, he's just interested in preening and catching my hand with his paws and teeth. That's a language I understand, because I know he likes it when I pet him. This is what the hand-in-paws gesture means. He's taught me a lot about communication.
The cat, the birds, the wild creatures: they're easy. It's humans who have the most problem with listening. We interrupt, we rush to finish thoughts for each other. Maybe if we just slow down, breathe, and attend when other people speak their words, we'll learn more from each other than the cat's taught me.
But he is a pretty smart cat.
