I have a delightful page-a-day calendar called Buddha Doodles.   On some days, it’s that very quick zen reminder on a busy day.  A little pearl of wisdom to carry with me.  They are often a simple sentence or two, or a quote accompanied by a cute buddist cartoon.  On a recent day it was:  Listen with Love.  At first, I brushed over the idea.  Of course, “Listen with Love” I thought.  Got it.  Except do I?  How often do I actually listen with true love in my heart.  As someone speaks, do I drop all other thoughts and truly look the speaker in the face and open my heart and listen?  As I gaze at that person, do I actually remind myself what caused me to love that person?  Do I listen with not only my ears, but with all of my senses?  Truly listening is a skill that we don’t actually practice very often.  We live in a world of distraction.  We may be raising a generation of distracted people.  I owe it to my loved ones and those I come in contact with to truly listen.  I invite you to join me in raising our listening skills.