"The heaven of true understanding shineth resplendent with the light of two luminaries: tolerance and righteousness." ~Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh
I am sitting down in the middle of the day to write this blog post when usually I make the time to do so in the wee hours of the morning. This morning I had to drive my youngest son to school and there was not enough time for me to write my thoughts and pour out my heart. I found that with the virtue of tolerance on my mind during the course of the morning, I have been aware of the need to practice it in my interactions. My son left a number of things behind at home and only discovered this after I had deposited him at school and was on my way back home. Usually this would have annoyed me and I would have told him that he would just have to make do without his belongings until the next time he was home. Instead, I heard myself explaining to him that I had a very full day of meetings and study and that the earliest time I would be able to drop things off to him would be around 4pm. He was delighted and apologised for not ensuring he had everything. We both laughed at his absentmindedness. How differently the conversation could have been had I not taken the time to refrain from judging him. I found that a doorway to my patience and forgiveness opened up and I willingly walked through it. And so the morning progressed with a conversation where I usually feel challenged. I found that to simply listen another's heart into acceptance - and that means listening to all that stuff that is hard to hear - that heart finds some peace and calm. I experienced this today and it was amazing to witness. I am often so quick to correct, advise and counsel that I do not offer the accepting space to just let a soul be. Today I found that space and when it was time for me to speak and offer a question or suggestion, that heart was open and ready to receive it. It required me to keep my own ego in check in a quiet place because I cannot control what someone feels. I can listen. No matter how many times something was repeated, it needed to be so because that is what that soul needed. My job was to offer an attentive and loving ear. This is one of my superpowers to listen another soul into acceptance. It mirrors to them their worth. I realise that once we are able to do this then whether or not we are able to help the person or not, does not really matter as they simply wanted to be heard. This is what the world needs more of, for us to listen. It is a way toward unity. When we can tolerate what is said and not take it personally but as evidence that that soul needs loving attention we can see a whole new avenue open up before us. It allows for deeper connections and more durable friendships.
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