I suppose there are many things
The soul needs to thrive.
And whether I have discovered yet
The half of them, I could not say.
But I have got this one thing, at least,
Figured out pretty well.
And I want you to listen.
The soul—
Your soul—
Needs to be heard.
Its thoughts and wishes.
Its feelings and beliefs.
Its deliberations and needs.
Its wonderings and yearnings.
Your soul needs to be heard
Like your stomach needs food
And your lungs need air.
Like your eyes need light.
But in this noisy, busy world—
Distracted as it is,
And far short on caring—
It’s far too often that most of us
Simply do without.
And it shows.
Many of us do not even listen to ourselves.
We do not really know these things very well
About even our own souls.
Not even about our very own souls, mind you—
As if such were not important.
And if that’s how it’s going to be,
Then there’s little point in lingering
For ten minutes after the meeting,
Or in asking a friend how his heart is doing
After a big disappointment,
Or in planning a time just to get together and talk—
Or in making the time when
The need arises!
And who among us makes the time
To reflect by ourselves,
Listening to our own inner workings,
As if something in this world
Just might matter
And be worthy of our attention?
We forget that blessing of being heard,
And how enriching it can be.
And it shows
In this soul-poor world.
So I’ll just come right out and tell you:
If you have got a friend
Who will listen to you,
You have got a treasure
Beyond valuation.
And if you can be
Such a friend
To others
And to yourself,
You are twice-rich!
