“To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common – this is my symphony.”

~ William Henry Channing

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“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”

~ Epictetus

How observant the sagacious Epictetus must have been to come up with that quote, no matter how obvious the fact that human beings physiologically have a couple of ears and a singular mouth.

I am more interested in the hidden depth behind the stoic’s quote in terms of the wisdom and lesson that can be learned towards self-improvement.

We must dive headfirst into the ocean of silence and go deep down to discover the art of listening – something which most of us are ignorant of because of the need to express ourselves vocally to people about what we think we know.

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