Words – Shinkichi Takahashi

I don’t take your words
Merely as words.
Far from it.

I listen
To what makes you talk – 
Whatever that is – 
And me listen.

by Shinkichi Takahashi.
Translated from the Japanese by Lucien Stryk & Takahashi Ikemoto

 

I’m not sure how come, but I’ve had an unusual amount of rich conversations and deep heart-meetings this week. They’ve left me feeling grateful and connected, and also curious. What enables such encounters? How much of it was due to the wonderful people that have touched my life this week, and how much might be due to a little shift in the kind of listening presence in me?

The 20th century Japanese Zen poet Shinkichi Takahashi has given a succinct recipe for deep connecting in this almost haiku-like poem: not just listening to the words, but to “what makes you talk – whatever that is – and me listen”. And on this windy evening in the beginning of March, it seems possible to hear love itself taking on the shape of words. Very worth listening for…

Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash