listening Archives - Leonard Ng

Meditation is good, but you don’t practise it.

You’re too busy, or you have too many things to do, or you’re always in a hurry to get somewhere, or you’re too tired at the end of the day.

And even when you do sit down to try and empty your mind, you feel a massive sense of guilt about everything else you ought to be doing instead.

(Oddly enough, sitting still for 15 minutes feels like a giant waste of time, while 15 minutes spent on social media doesn’t…

…because one forces you to pay painful attention to the messed-up inside of your head, while the other lets you take refuge in comforting distraction.)

Whatever your reasons, it all boils down to one thing:

You don’t have time.

So here are three ways to remain mindful even when you’re on the go — quick check-ins that will bring you back to the present moment and allow you to centre yourself before your next activity.

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Only a few things about people truly matter.

These are the things that make them most deeply who they are: their hopes, dreams, fears, loves, joys. To me these are the really important things.

I’m not much of a people person. I don’t like crowds, and I don’t say much. But I do often like people, as individuals.

(Not all people, of course. I try not to engage with those who act as if everyone else owes them a living, with those who delight in power plays, with those who try to force their beliefs and opinions on others, or with those whose hearts and minds are closed. But most of the people I encounter are perfectly fine by me.)

This to me is the essence of the art of conversation: knowing what not to say, and knowing how to listen.

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