A Question Of Listening

Issue #68 of Your Inbox Poetry Magazine

Can you hear
what they say? Can you ease
past the words? Truly hear, see, feel the
beauty and love? Can you
understand?

Once I learned about a very good tool for optimising processes. If you want to do that, you need to eliminate everything that makes the process sub-optimal. But how do you find the things to eliminate? You need to ask the operators. And not just ask, but the tool that works so well is the 5 Whys method. To really understand what is going on, you need to go past what people tell you. Listen to what they say and ask why. Generally, that is the theory of the method, only after digging 5 levels deep, you really find what is the root cause of whatever it is you are researching.

It’s not just so with processes. For people, it’s the same. That’s why listening is so important. You really have to hear what they say. Then dig deeper, to understand what it really is they want to say. Only then can you truly understand. And act.

Especially in what for many people is a time of reflection, it’s good to practice this. Try to really listen. Don’t react immediately to what people say to you, but listen. Ask why. Care.

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Now Listen to This

This week’s poem is also available in the #trpplffct readings collection. For now, it lives on Soundcloud:

Common ground. Even if we seem to come from worlds apart, there’s always someone that connects us. This podcast, Poetry Unbound, dives deep into a poem and talks about the story and what it means. At least, what it means to the host of the show. It’s a calming experience, and certainly a podcast episode worth listening to:

Now that you are listening to podcasts, why not try this episode of my Tripple Effect Poetry Podcast, in which I speak with brilliant poet Sylph Hemery:

And if you just want some music to accompany you on whatever you are doing now (or will be doing in the next days), and that is not all about driving home, all I want and giving it to someone special, here is the hand-picked decemberffct playlist. Especially for you:

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Poetry Elsewhere

Living inside a bubble. That can mean so many things. I like that I’m able to create my own bubble when I’m on public transport, for example. But sometimes, bubbles can be dangerous, too. When they are social media echo chambers echoing conspiratory noise, for example. Other times, they are inspirations for art. Like in this poem, Bubbles [links to a post on a Facebook page].

Some poets have messages that do not fully align with how I see the world. Still, I can admire their craft and love the fact that they show me a different way of seeing life. This poet, LeafvanAmsterdam (intriguing name), has some very crafty poems that show a world I don’t know about. I’ve picked his poem Feast to share.

When people stop listening to each other, polarisation rapidly escalates. There are plenty of examples of that around the world. This poem, freedom of speech, sketches the pain and the vicious cycle. Go read it.

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The Cooperative Bookseller’s Corner

Did you know that poetry is Santa’s favorite gift? Well, it could be. Or maybe even should be. And even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, there’s always somebody you can make happy with the gift of words. Here are three suggestions for excellent poetry gifts, hand-picked especially for you. Mind you, these are not affiliate links. You click, you buy, you support the poet. That’s it.

The Hillside Diary by A. Christine Myers

Savoir Faire by Ashwini Dodani

A Rainbow in the Fountain by Arjan Tupan (hey, that’s me!)