Listening is like holding Gibran’s bow for another

I would like to begin with gratitude as I introduce you to my good friend Wonder Anew, a listening and question-guided process for working with personal difficulty.

I am grateful to my teacher whose teachings offer me encouragement and guidance.

I am grateful for the idea to do a project and to over 1700 people who were part of Wonder Anew’s first two years.

I am grateful for teachings and encouragement to start with myself as a way to benefit all others.

I am grateful to those who were willing to experiment with the open-ended questions and share their processes to provide examples that encourage others to do the same.

I am grateful to teens who teach us that it is a good time, at any age, to face and unravel personal difficulty.

This verse by Kahlil Gibran expresses how I view my work as a listener. When asked to listen, I want to be someone who quietly sits with you so that you can hear the tenderness of your own mind and heart.

“…Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts…

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth…” – On Children, Kahlil Gibran

So I envision Wonder Anew as a bow, a tool for clear-seeing. In the way I quiet, still, and hold my camera to see and study birds, I get to hold a Gibran-bow for you to explore personal difficulty. It is my that your courageous recognition and clear-seeing endeavor transforms into a gateway of insight.