BY GARY JOHNSON
Reprinted from Loose Change (TCBMag.com)

“Hear the birds? Sometimes I try to imagine what it’s like to be deaf and not hear the birds. It’s actually not that bad.”—Larry David

The art of listening, it’s Oprah-esque. Can’t you see her talking to soul man Gary Zukav about it on Sunday morning, i.e., listening as a sacred, overt act of compassion? Psychologists refer to it as making room for another. Be. The. Silence. Did you know that people only internalize 25 to 50 percent of what they hear? We really aren’t very good listeners. But the horse I rode in on today is not about listening.

My name is Gary, and I’m deaf as a wooden post. Continue reading →